Professor Tuck Seng Wong

I am a Professor of Biomanufacturing in the School of Chemical, Materials, and Biological Engineering (CMBE) at the University of Sheffield. I serve as the Director of the UK-South East Asia Vaccine Manufacturing Research Hub, a £7.6M initiative supported by the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Additionally, I hold adjunct positions with the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC) in Thailand and the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in Indonesia.

I have received multiple prestigious fellowships, including the JSPS Invitational Fellowship (2023, declined due to the hub award), the RAEng | The Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship (2019), the Royal Academy of Engineering Industrial Fellowship (2016), and the Medical Research Council Career Development Fellowship (2007).

With over two decades of expertise in protein engineering and engineering biology, my research spans diverse applications, including biopharmaceuticals, enzyme biocatalysis, and alternative foods. I authored the textbook ‘A Practical Guide to Protein Engineering’ (ISBN: 978-3-030-56898-6), which has been translated into German ‘Ein praktischer Leitfaden für Protein Engineering’ (ISBN: 978-3-031-32826-8). Beyond academia,

I am a serial entrepreneur. In 2022, I co-founded Evolutor Ltd, a Sheffield-based biotech spinout focused on developing advanced microbes for biomanufacturing through a proprietary accelerated evolution platform. In 2024, I co-founded ReNewFood Ltd, a biotech company dedicated to developing novel protein-based flavouring ingredients to enhance the taste and nutrition of alternative foods.

My passion for biomanufacturing has been shaped by my mentors, including Nobel Laureate Prof. Frances H. Arnold, Prof. Ulrich Schwaneberg, Prof. Sir Alan R. Fersht, and Prof. Alexander Steinbüchel.