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Associate Professor Mariusz Skwarczynski
Associate Professor

Mariusz Skwarczynski

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 334 69894

Overview

Background

Mariusz Skwarczynski completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1999 at Wroclaw University of Technology (Poland). His postdoctoral training began at Tokushima Bunri University (Japan) under the direction of late Professor M. Nishizawa, where he studied the biomimetic total synthesis of anticancer agent paclitaxel. He then joined the laboratory of Professor Yoshiaki Kiso at Kyoto Pharmaceutical University (Japan) to study prodrugs of paclitaxel. In 2004 he was awarded with Japanese fellowship (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science postdoctoral fellowship) and research grant to conduct further research on paclitaxel. He developed novel classes of paclitaxel prodrugs: isotaxoids and phototaxels. He also co-developed an epimerization-free method for the synthesis of novel building blocks (isodipeptides) for solid phase peptide synthesis and these units have been commercialized by Merck-Novabiochem.

In 2008 he joined Professor Istvan Toth group at University of Queensland (Australia) to work on vaccine delivery strategies. Since then, he research is mainly focused on nanotechnology-based peptide vaccine delivery approaches. In 2010 he was awarded with University of Queensland Strategic Fund Research Fellowship. In Australia, he is involved in a wide range of collaborative research projects, both nationally and internationally, to develop vaccines against GAS, HIV, hookworm infections, malaria and cancer, along with antibiotics against multidrug resistant bacteria.

Availability

Associate Professor Mariusz Skwarczynski is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Qualifications

  • Masters (Coursework) of Science, Wroclaw University of Technology
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Wroclaw University of Technology
  • Member, Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre
  • Journal Editorial Board Member, Current Drug Delivery, Current Drug Delivery
  • Journal Editorial Board Member, Frontiers in Pharmacology (Associate Editor), Frontiers in Pharmacology (Associate Editor)
  • Journal Editorial Board Member, Medicinal Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry
  • Member, Royal Australian Chemical Institute, Royal Australian Chemical Institute
  • Member, The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Alumni Association in Australia, The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Alumni Association in Australia
  • Journal Editorial Board Member, Vaccines (Regional Editor of Australia), Vaccines (Regional Editor of Australia)

Research interests

  • Vaccines and Nanomedicine

    Vaccine Desing, Nanotechnology, Peptide Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Vaccine/Drug Delivery, Antimicrobial Agents, Macromolecules, Adjuvants, Immunology

Research impacts

Mariusz Skwarczynski has over 180 publications, including peer-reviewed journals, book chapters (Wiley, Springer Nature, Nova Science, Elsevier), and two edited book (Elsevier, Springer Nature) – as of 2023. Among these publications, 16 are in journals with an impact factor of 10-30. He was ranked 3rd in the world in the Subunit Vaccines field (2012-2022) by Expertscape's PubMed-based scheme and placed among the top 0.1% (0.022% of 18,308 published authors) of scholars writing about Subunit Vaccines over the past 10 years: https://expertscape.com/ex/vaccines%2C+subunit. He is an inventor on three patents that attracted interest from the industry including Meat & Livestock Australia Ltd, Vet-Agro Sp. z o.o., Paragen Bio, and Brandon Capital. He co-developed an epimerization-free method for the synthesis of novel building blocks (isodipeptides) for solid-phase peptide synthesis; these units have been commercialised by Merck-Novabiochem. Recently, he has been actively engaged in several projects aimed at the commercialisation of veterinary vaccines (mostly targeting domestic and wild animals’ fertility control) in Australia and Italy.

He is very active in a collaborative initiative between universities, on projects to develop vaccines against Group A Streptococcus, tuberculosis, hookworm, malaria, porcine circovirus, babesia and cancer, as well as other drug delivery systems. He is an Associate Editor in Frontiers in Pharmacology, (2016 – current) and Regional Editor of Australia in Vaccines (2018 – current). In addition to grants from the ARC and NHMRC, he is also the recipient of industry-specific grants (Economic Accelerator Launch Programme 2023 and Meat & Livestock Australia Limited grant 2021). He regularly communicates with the public (locally and internationally) on issues related to vaccine development and safety. His recent publication on the oral hookworm vaccine has attracted wide media interest from all over the world (Australia, India, China, Kenya, New Zealand, Hungary, Pakistan, etc.). He is often invited to present at international conferences, and recently he organised and chaired Micro and Nanoparticles in Drug and Vaccine Delivery Symposium, Brisbane, 2021.

He has served as a primary supervisor of four PhD students (two ongoings, two theses awarded) and co-supervisor of 23 PhD students in the medicinal chemistry, biotechnology, and vaccine development fields. All his former students have successfully found jobs, many of which are in the fields of biology or chemistry, across industry and academia, in Australia and abroad. Some notable examples of current employers of his past students include Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, National University of Malaysia, The Translational Research Institute, Griffith University, Miltenyi Biotec Australia, James Cook University, Procter & Gamble, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, WuXi Biologics, and Endologix California.

Works

Search Professor Mariusz Skwarczynski’s works on UQ eSpace

196 works between 1995 and 2024

1 - 20 of 196 works

2024

Journal Article

Self-assembled monovalent lipidated mannose ligand as a standalone nanoadjuvant

Nahar, Ummey J., Wang, Jingwen, Shalash, Ahmed O., Lu, Lantian, Islam, Md. T., Alharbi, Nedaa, Koirala, Prashamsa, Khalil, Zeinab G., Capon, Robert J., Hussein, Waleed M., Toth, Istvan and Skwarczynski, Mariusz (2024). Self-assembled monovalent lipidated mannose ligand as a standalone nanoadjuvant. Vaccine, 42 (23) 126060, 126060. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.06.027

Self-assembled monovalent lipidated mannose ligand as a standalone nanoadjuvant

2024

Journal Article

Cholesterol as an inbuilt immunoadjuvant for a lipopeptide vaccine against group A Streptococcus infection

Alharbi, Nedaa, Shalash, Ahmed O., Koirala, Prashamsa, Boer, Jennifer C., Hussein, Waleed M., Khalil, Zeinab G., Capon, Robert J., Plebanski, Magdalena, Toth, Istvan and Skwarczynski, Mariusz (2024). Cholesterol as an inbuilt immunoadjuvant for a lipopeptide vaccine against group A Streptococcus infection. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 663, 43-52. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.02.134

Cholesterol as an inbuilt immunoadjuvant for a lipopeptide vaccine against group A Streptococcus infection

2024

Journal Article

COVID-19 variants and vaccine development

Zhao, Ziyao, Bashiri, Sahra, Ziora, Zyta M., Toth, Istvan and Skwarczynski, Mariusz (2024). COVID-19 variants and vaccine development. Viruses, 16 (5) 757, 757. doi: 10.3390/v16050757

COVID-19 variants and vaccine development

2024

Journal Article

Utilizing murine dendritic cell line DC2.4 to evaluate the immunogenicity of subunit vaccines in vitro

Lu, Lantian, Kong, Wei Yang, Zhang, Jiahui, Firdaus, Farrhana, Wells, James W., Stephenson, Rachel J., Toth, Istvan, Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Cruz, Jazmina L. Gonzalez (2024). Utilizing murine dendritic cell line DC2.4 to evaluate the immunogenicity of subunit vaccines in vitro. Frontiers in Immunology, 15 ARTN 1298721, 1-13. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1298721

Utilizing murine dendritic cell line DC2.4 to evaluate the immunogenicity of subunit vaccines in vitro

2024

Journal Article

Polymeric nanoparticles as oral and intranasal peptide vaccine delivery systems: the role of shape and conjugation

Koirala, Prashamsa, Shalash, Ahmed O., Chen, Sung-Po R., Faruck, Mohammad O., Wang, Jingwen, Hussein, Waleed M., Khalil, Zeinab G., Capon, Robert J., Monteiro, Michael J., Toth, Istvan and Skwarczynski, Mariusz (2024). Polymeric nanoparticles as oral and intranasal peptide vaccine delivery systems: the role of shape and conjugation. Vaccines, 12 (2) 198, 1-14. doi: 10.3390/vaccines12020198

Polymeric nanoparticles as oral and intranasal peptide vaccine delivery systems: the role of shape and conjugation

2024

Book Chapter

An analytical protocol for detecting antibody titer levels in serum/saliva by indirect Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)

Wang, Jingwen, Bashiri, Sahra, Toth, Istvan and Skwarczynski, Mariusz (2024). An analytical protocol for detecting antibody titer levels in serum/saliva by indirect Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Peptide antibodies: methods and protocols. (pp. 205-216) edited by Gunnar Houen. New York, NY, United States: Humana Press. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3914-6_16

An analytical protocol for detecting antibody titer levels in serum/saliva by indirect Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)

2023

Journal Article

Activity relationship of poly(ethylenimine)-based liposomes as group A Streptococcus vaccine delivery systems

Jin, Shengbin, Zhang, Jiahui, Nahar, Ummey J., Huang, Wenbin, Alharbi, Nedaa A., Shalash, Ahmed O., Koirala, Prashamsa, Yang, Jieru, Kiong, Jolynn J. E., Khalil, Zeinab G., Capon, Robert J., Stephenson, Rachel J., Skwarczynski, Mariusz, Toth, Istvan and Hussein, Waleed M. (2023). Activity relationship of poly(ethylenimine)-based liposomes as group A Streptococcus vaccine delivery systems. ACS Infectious Diseases, 9 (8), 1570-1581. doi: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.3c00159

Activity relationship of poly(ethylenimine)-based liposomes as group A Streptococcus vaccine delivery systems

2023

Journal Article

Towards the development of subunit vaccines against tuberculosis: The key role of adjuvant

Duong, Viet Tram, Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2023). Towards the development of subunit vaccines against tuberculosis: The key role of adjuvant. Tuberculosis, 139 102307, 1-15. doi: 10.1016/j.tube.2023.102307

Towards the development of subunit vaccines against tuberculosis: The key role of adjuvant

2023

Journal Article

Multiepitope subunit peptide-based nanovaccine against porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) elicited high antibody titers in vaccinated mice

Duong, Viet Tram, Koirala, Prashamsa, Chen, Sung-Po R., Monteiro, Michael J., Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2023). Multiepitope subunit peptide-based nanovaccine against porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) elicited high antibody titers in vaccinated mice. Molecules, 28 (5) 2248, 1-15. doi: 10.3390/molecules28052248

Multiepitope subunit peptide-based nanovaccine against porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) elicited high antibody titers in vaccinated mice

2023

Journal Article

Liposomal formulations of a polyleucine–antigen conjugate as therapeutic vaccines against cervical cancer

Firdaus, Farrhana Z., Bartlett, Stacey, Hussein, Waleed M., Lu, Lantian, Wright, Quentin, Huang, Wenbin, Nahar, Ummey J., Yang, Jieru, Khongkow, Mattaka, Veitch, Margaret, Koirala, Prashamsa, Ruktanonchai, Uracha R., Monteiro, Michael J., Gonzalez Cruz, Jazmina L., Stephenson, Rachel J., Wells, James W., Toth, Istvan and Skwarczynski, Mariusz (2023). Liposomal formulations of a polyleucine–antigen conjugate as therapeutic vaccines against cervical cancer. Pharmaceutics, 15 (2) 602, 1-15. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15020602

Liposomal formulations of a polyleucine–antigen conjugate as therapeutic vaccines against cervical cancer

2023

Journal Article

The development of surface-modified liposomes as an intranasal delivery system for group A Streptococcus vaccines

Yang, Jieru, Boer, Jennifer C., Khongkow, Mattaka, Phunpee, Sarunya, Khalil, Zeinab G., Bashiri, Sahra, Deceneux, Cyril, Goodchild, Georgia, Hussein, Waleed M., Capon, Robert J., Ruktanonchai, Uracha, Plebanski, Magdalena, Toth, Istvan and Skwarczynski, Mariusz (2023). The development of surface-modified liposomes as an intranasal delivery system for group A Streptococcus vaccines. Vaccines, 11 (2) 305. doi: 10.3390/vaccines11020305

The development of surface-modified liposomes as an intranasal delivery system for group A Streptococcus vaccines

2023

Journal Article

Confinement of triple-enzyme-involved antioxidant cascade in two-dimensional nanostructure

Szerlauth, Adel, Varga, Árpád, Madácsy, Tamara, Sebők, Dániel, Bashiri, Sahra, Skwarczynski, Mariusz, Toth, Istvan, Maléth, József and Szilagyi, Istvan (2023). Confinement of triple-enzyme-involved antioxidant cascade in two-dimensional nanostructure. ACS Materials Letters, 5 (2), 565-573. doi: 10.1021/acsmaterialslett.2c00580

Confinement of triple-enzyme-involved antioxidant cascade in two-dimensional nanostructure

2023

Journal Article

Polymeric nanoparticles as a self‐adjuvanting peptide vaccine delivery system: the role of shape

Koirala, Prashamsa, Chen, Sung‐Po R., Boer, Jennifer C., Khalil, Zeinab G., Deceneux, Cyril, Goodchild, Georgia, Lu, Lantian, Faruck, Mohammad Omer, Shalash, Ahmed O., Bashiri, Sahra, Capon, Robert J., Hussein, Waleed M., Monteiro, Michael J., Plebanski, Magdalena, Toth, Istvan and Skwarczynski, Mariusz (2023). Polymeric nanoparticles as a self‐adjuvanting peptide vaccine delivery system: the role of shape. Advanced Functional Materials, 33 (12) 2209304, 2209304. doi: 10.1002/adfm.202209304

Polymeric nanoparticles as a self‐adjuvanting peptide vaccine delivery system: the role of shape

2023

Journal Article

Polyphenylalanine as a self-adjuvanting delivery system for peptide-based vaccines: the role of peptide conformation

Skwarczynski, Mariusz, Zhao, Guangzu, Ozberk, Victoria, Giddam, Ashwini Kumar, Khalil, Zeinab G., Pandey, Manisha, Hussein, Waleed M., Nevagi, Reshma J., Batzloff, Michael R., Capon, Robert J., Good, Michael F. and Toth, Istvan (2023). Polyphenylalanine as a self-adjuvanting delivery system for peptide-based vaccines: the role of peptide conformation. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 76 (8), 429-436. doi: 10.1071/ch22167

Polyphenylalanine as a self-adjuvanting delivery system for peptide-based vaccines: the role of peptide conformation

2022

Journal Article

The influence of component structural arrangement on peptide vaccine immunogenicity

Alharbi, Nedaa, Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2022). The influence of component structural arrangement on peptide vaccine immunogenicity. Biotechnology Advances, 60 108029, 1-24. doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2022.108029

The influence of component structural arrangement on peptide vaccine immunogenicity

2022

Journal Article

Mannose in vaccine delivery

Nahar, Ummey Jannatun, Toth, Istvan and Skwarczynski, Mariusz (2022). Mannose in vaccine delivery. Journal of Controlled Release, 351, 284-300. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2022.09.038

Mannose in vaccine delivery

2022

Journal Article

Development of multilayer nanoparticles for the delivery of peptide-based subunit vaccine against group a Streptococcus

Kiong, Jolynn, Nahar, Ummey Jannatun, Jin, Shengbin, Shalash, Ahmed O., Zhang, Jiahui, Koirala, Prashamsa, Khalil, Zeinab G., Capon, Robert J., Skwarczynski, Mariusz, Toth, Istvan and Hussein, Waleed M. (2022). Development of multilayer nanoparticles for the delivery of peptide-based subunit vaccine against group a Streptococcus. Pharmaceutics, 14 (10) 2151, 1-12. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14102151

Development of multilayer nanoparticles for the delivery of peptide-based subunit vaccine against group a Streptococcus

2022

Journal Article

Perspectives in the vaccine development against Opisthorchis viverrini liver fluke

Shalash, Ahmed O., Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2022). Perspectives in the vaccine development against Opisthorchis viverrini liver fluke. MedComm – Biomaterials and Applications, 1 (2) e21, 1-8. doi: 10.1002/mba2.21

Perspectives in the vaccine development against Opisthorchis viverrini liver fluke

2022

Journal Article

Poly(hydrophobic amino acids) and liposomes for delivery of vaccine against Group A Streptococcus

Azuar, Armira, Madge, Harrison Y. R., Boer, Jennifer C., Gonzalez Cruz, Jazmina L., Wang, Jingwen, Khalil, Zeinab G., Deceneux, Cyril, Goodchild, Georgia, Yang, Jieru, Koirala, Prashamsa, Hussein, Waleed M., Capon, Robert J., Plebanski, Magdalena, Toth, Istvan and Skwarczynski, Mariusz (2022). Poly(hydrophobic amino acids) and liposomes for delivery of vaccine against Group A Streptococcus. Vaccines, 10 (8) 1212, 1-14. doi: 10.3390/vaccines10081212

Poly(hydrophobic amino acids) and liposomes for delivery of vaccine against Group A Streptococcus

2022

Journal Article

Development of a peptide vaccine against hookworm infection: immunogenicity, efficacy, and immune correlates of protection

Shalash, Ahmed O., Becker, Luke, Yang, Jieru, Giacomin, Paul, Pearson, Mark, Hussein, Waleed M., Loukas, Alex, Toth, Istvan and Skwarczynski, Mariusz (2022). Development of a peptide vaccine against hookworm infection: immunogenicity, efficacy, and immune correlates of protection. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 150 (1), 157-169.e10. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2022.02.020

Development of a peptide vaccine against hookworm infection: immunogenicity, efficacy, and immune correlates of protection

Funding

Current funding

  • 2024 - 2027
    A nanovaccine against Invasive Group A Streptococcus and Rheumatic Heart Disease
    NHMRC IDEAS Grants
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2027
    Paving the way for a Clinical Vaccine Candidate against Hookworm Infection
    NHMRC IDEAS Grants
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2025
    Single-shot anti-fertility vaccine in pigs
    Australia's Economic Accelerator Seed Grants
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2024
    Poly(amino acids) as immune stimulators
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2025
    A single-shot anti-fertility vaccine in female cattle
    Meat & Livestock Australia
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2020 - 2021
    Hookworm peptide therapeutic for oral treatment of IBD (NHMRC Development Grant administered by James Cook University)
    James Cook University
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2014
    A Self-assembling and Self-adjuvanting Nanoparticular Therapeutic Vaccine Against Cervical Cancer
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Associate Professor Mariusz Skwarczynski is:
Available for supervision

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Supervision history

Current supervision

Completed supervision

Media

Enquiries

Contact Associate Professor Mariusz Skwarczynski directly for media enquiries about:

  • fertility control
  • group A streptococcus
  • hookworm
  • immune adjuvants
  • nanovaccines
  • peptide vaccines

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