Professor Tuck Seng Wong
BEng(Hons), MSc, PhD (Special distinction), AMIChemE
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Professor of Biomanufacturing
Director of the UK-South East Asia Vaccine Manufacturing Research Hub
Co-founder of Evolutor Ltd and ReNewFood Ltd
+44 114 222 7591
Full contact details
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Room C58
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
- Profile
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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.
- Research interests
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My research is dedicated to the design, development, and optimization of biological systems for sustainable manufacturing. Our biomanufacturing efforts encompass a wide range of applications, including biopharmaceuticals (particularly vaccines), alternative proteins, and enzymes. Additionally, we are committed to advancing the field by developing innovative tools, both biological and physical, that push the boundaries of biomanufacturing. A key focus of our work is applying evolutionary concepts and techniques to enhance the functionality and efficiency of biological systems. We have a long-standing tradition of collaboration with researchers in the Southeast Asian region and a strong track record of successfully commercializing university-based research.
Key research interests:
- Engineering biological systems for enhanced performance using evolutionary concepts and techniques.
- Developing miniaturized devices for biological system engineering.
- Advancing virus-like particle technology for innovative vaccine development and synthetic biology applications.
- Publications
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Books
- Ein praktischer Leitfaden für Protein Engineering. Springer International Publishing.
- A Practical Guide to Protein Engineering. Springer International Publishing.
Journal articles
- Fast‐track adaptive laboratory evolution of Cupriavidus necator H16 with divalent metal cations. Biotechnology Journal, 19(7).
- Renewfood manufacturing: Food production for a nourished, resilient nation. Open Access Government, 39(1), 468-469.
- Efficient degradation of various emerging pollutants by wild type and evolved fungal DyP4 peroxidases. PLoS ONE, 17(1).
- Engineering Cupriavidus necator DSM 545 for the one-step conversion of starchy waste into polyhydroxyalkanoates. Bioresource Technology, 126383-126383.
- Random and combinatorial mutagenesis for improved total production of secretory target protein in Escherichia coli. Scientific Reports, 11.
- Lignin to polyhydroxyalkanoate bioprocessing by novel strain of Pseudomonas monteilii. Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery.
- The chemokine lymphotactin and its recombinant variants in oral cancer cell regulation. Oral Diseases. View this article in WRRO
- Author correction to ‘Design and application of genetically-encoded malonyl-CoA biosensors for metabolic engineering of microbial cell factories’ [Metab. Eng. 44 (2017) 253–264]. Metabolic Engineering.
- Accelerated directed evolution of dye-decolorizing peroxidase using a bacterial extracellular protein secretion system (BENNY). Bioresources and Bioprocessing, 6(1). View this article in WRRO
- Metabolic pathway analysis for in silico design of efficient autotrophic production of advanced biofuels. Bioresources and Bioprocessing, 6(1). View this article in WRRO
- Adaptive laboratory evolution of cupriavidus necator H16 for carbon co-utilization with glycerol. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 20(22). View this article in WRRO
- PTO-QuickStep : a fast and efficient method for cloning random mutagenesis libraries. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 20(16). View this article in WRRO
- Protein engineering for bioreduction of carboxylic acids. Journal of Biotechnology, 303, 53-64.
- An Engineered Constitutive Promoter Set with Broad Activity Range for Cupriavidus necator H16. ACS Synthetic Biology, 7(8), 1918-1928. View this article in WRRO
- An Efficient Transformation Method for the Bioplastic‐Producing “Knallgas” Bacterium Ralstonia eutropha H16. Biotechnology Journal, 12(11). View this article in WRRO
- Design and application of genetically-encoded malonyl-CoA biosensors for metabolic engineering of microbial cell factories. Metabolic Engineering, 44, 253-264. View this article in WRRO
- Rapid Construction of Recombinant Plasmids by QuickStep-Cloning. Methods in Molecular Biology, 1472, 205-214. View this article in WRRO
- QuickStep-Cloning: a sequence-independent, ligation-free method for rapid construction of recombinant plasmids. Journal of Biological Engineering, 9, 15-15. View this article in WRRO
- From genetic circuits to industrial-scale biomanufacturing: bacterial promoters as a cornerstone of biotechnology. AIMS Bioengineering, 2(3), 277-296.
- OneClick: A Program for Designing Focused Mutagenesis Experiments. AIMS Bioengineering, 2(3), 126-143.
- The mutagenesis assistant program. Methods in Molecular Biology, 1179, 279-290.
- Polishing the craft of genetic diversity creation in directed evolution. Biotechnology Advances, 31(8), 1707-1721. View this article in WRRO
- The role of active-site Phe87 in modulating the organic co-solvent tolerance of cytochrome P450 BM3 monooxygenase. Acta Crystallographica Section F: Structural Biology and Crystallization Communications, 68(9), 1013-1017.
- A novel radio propagation and radiation model of the wireless capsule endoscopy in human gastro-intestine (GI) tract. 2011 International SoC Design Conference, ISOCC 2011, 310-312.
- Biophysical characterizations of human mitochondrial transcription factor A and its binding to tumor suppressor p53.. Nucleic Acids Res, 37(20), 6765-6783.
- The accessory subunit of mitochondrial DNA polymerase gamma determines the DNA content of mitochondrial nucleoids in human cultured cells.. Nucleic Acids Res, 37(17), 5701-5713. View this article in WRRO
- Physical and functional interactions between human mitochondrial single-stranded DNA-binding protein and tumour suppressor p53.. Nucleic Acids Res, 37(2), 568-581.
- Transversion-enriched sequence saturation mutagenesis (SeSaM-Tv+): A random mutagenesis method with consecutivenucleotide exchanges that complements the bias of error-prone PCR. Biotechnology Journal, 3(1), 74-82.
- Understanding a mechanism of organic cosolvent inactivation in heme monooxygenase P450BM-3. J AM CHEM SOC, 129(18), 5786-+.
- Are transversion mutations better? A mutagenesis assistant program analysis on P450 BM-3 heme domain. Biotechnology Journal, 2(1), 133-142.
- Steering directed protein evolution: Strategies to manage combinatorial complexity of mutant libraries. Environmental Microbiology, 9(11), 2645-2659.
- Challenges of the genetic code for exploring sequence space in directed protein evolution. Biocatalysis and Biotransformation, 25(2-4), 229-241.
- Toward understanding the inactivation mechanism of monooxygenase P450 BM-3 by organic cosolvents: a molecular dynamics simulation study.. Biopolymers, 83(5), 467-476.
- A filter paper-based assay for laboratory evolution of hydrolases and dehydrogenases. COMB CHEM HIGH T SCR, 9(4), 289-293.
- The diversity challenge in directed protein evolution.. Comb Chem High Throughput Screen, 9(4), 271-288.
- A statistical analysis of random mutagenesis methods used for directed protein evolution. Journal of Molecular Biology, 355(4), 858-871.
- Sequence saturation mutagenesis (SeSam) of a gene. BioSpektrum, 12(3), 277-279.
- Sensitive assay for laboratory evolution of hydroxylases toward aromatic and heterocyclic compounds. Journal of Biomolecular Screening, 10(3), 246-252.
- Structural and dynamic properties of cytochrome P450 BM-3 in pure water and in a dimethylsulfoxide/water mixture. Biopolymers, 78(5), 259-267.
- Sequence saturation mutagenesis with tunable mutation frequencies. Analytical Biochemistry, 341(1), 187-189.
- Laboratory Evolution of Cytochrome P450 BM-3 Monooxygenase for Organic Cosolvents. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 85(3), 351-358.
- Sequence saturation mutagenesis (SeSaM): a novel method for directed evolution.. Nucleic acids research, 32(3).
- Protein engineering in bioelectrocatalysis. Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 14(6), 590-596.
- Glycoprofile Comparison of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Proteins Expressed in CHO and HEK Cell Lines. Molecular Biotechnology.
- Crafting Genetic Diversity: Unlocking the Potential of Protein Evolution. SynBio, 2(2), 142-173.
- Evaluating oleaginous yeasts for enhanced microbial lipid production using sweetwater as a sustainable feedstock. Microbial Cell Factories, 23(1).
- Production of Trimeric SARS‐CoV‐2 Spike Protein by CHO Cells for Serological COVID‐19 Testing. Biotechnology and Bioengineering.
- Carbon Dioxide Capture and Utilization using Biological Systems: Opportunities and Challenges. Journal of Bioprocessing & Biotechniques, 04(03).
- Directed evolution for improved total secretory protein production in Escherichia coli.
Chapters
- From Knallgas Bacterium to Promising Biomanufacturing Host: The Evolution of Cupriavidus necator, Advances in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology Springer Berlin Heidelberg
- Rapid Cloning of Random Mutagenesis Libraries Using PTO-QuickStep, Methods in Molecular Biology (pp. 123-135). Springer US
- Microbial Utilization of Glycerol for Biomanufacturing, Engineering of Microbial Biosynthetic Pathways (pp. 245-302). Springer Singapore
- Back to Basics: Creating Genetic Diversity, Directed Enzyme Evolution: Advances and Applications (pp. 201-227). Springer International Publishing
- Protein engineering for lignocellulose degradation In Kumar P, Gurjar BR & Govil JN (Ed.), Environmental Science and Engineering Volume 8: Biodegradation and Bioremediation USA: Studium Press LLC.
- Engineering Ralstonia eutropha for chemical production In Zhang TC, Gurjar BR & Govil JN (Ed.), Environmental Science and Engineering Volume 10: Industrial Processing & Nanotechnology USA: Studium Press LLC.
- Tapping into biodiversity: From metagenomics to industrial enzymes In Gurjar BR, Kumar A & Govil JN (Ed.), Environmental Science and Engineering Volume 2: Biodiversity and Conservation USA: Studium Press LLC.
- Directed evolution: A powerful algorithm for advancing synthetic biology. In Singh V (Ed.), Biotechnology Volume 4: Applied Synthetic Biology (pp. 465-497). USA: Studium Press LLC.
Other
- Building global health with lego vaccines. Open Access Government, 42(1), 32-33.
- Microbe development for the biomanufacturing age. Open Access Government, 41(1), 378-379.
Preprints
- Crafting Genetic Diversity: Unlocking the Potential of Protein Evolution, MDPI AG.
- Fast-track adaptive laboratory evolution ofCupriavidus necatorH16 with divalent metal cations, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Sweetwater: an underrated crude glycerol for sustainable lipid production in non-conventional yeasts, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Production of Trimeric SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein by CHO Cells for Serological COVID-19 Testing, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Production of Trimeric SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein by CHO Cells for Serological COVID-19 Testing, Authorea, Inc..
- Purification of recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike, its receptor binding domain, and CR3022 mAb for serological assay.
- Ein praktischer Leitfaden für Protein Engineering. Springer International Publishing.
- Professional activities and memberships
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- Founder and Director of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)
- Editor of Bioresources and Bioprocessing (https://bioresourcesbioprocessing.springeropen.com/)