Skip to menu Skip to content Skip to footer
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), and then Kyoto Pharmaceutical University (Japan). In 2008 he joined Professor Istvan Toth’s group at The University of Queensland (Australia) to work on new vaccine development strategies. Currently his group activity is mainly focused on nanotechnology-based peptide vaccine delivery approaches and adjuvants discovery. He is Regional Editor of Australia in Vaccines, and Associate Editor in Frontiers in Pharmacology. He has published over 190 peer-reviewed publications, including 18 book chapters and three books.

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

Research impacts

Mariusz Skwarczynski work focuses on nanotechnology-based approaches to vaccine adjuvants, with the potential for significant practical applications in developing novel vaccines. He has co-developed unique peptide, polymer, and liposomes-based adjuvanting systems used in vaccine development against malaria, hookworm, Group A Streptococcus, cancer and fertility vaccines.

As per January 2026:

He has published 3 books, 18 book chapters, and over 170 journal papers (~ 40 first and ~ 40 as last author, h index = 55, citations >9000), with a Field-Weighted Citation Impact of 2.14 (twice higher than the average researcher), and 29.9% of publications in last 5-years are in the top 10% of journals by CiteScore. Ranked 5th (Top 0.027% of 18,422) in the world in Subunit Vaccines (2012-2022; ExpertScape) and listed in World’s Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University in 2024, inside the top 0.35% in medicinal & biomolecular chemistry. His publications have received > 150 patent cites.

In the past 10 years, he secured $33.8M in grant funding, including $3.0M as the principle CI, $10.1M as a CI and $20.7M as the AI. He currently holds five grants as a CI: 2xNHMRC Ideas (CIA, 2024-27, $608K; CIA, 2024-27, $856K), CRE NHMRC (CIF, 2026-31, $3,000K), Synergy NHMRC (CIF, 2026-31, $5,000K), and ARC DP (CIA, 2026-30, $1,073K).

He has been invited 21 times in the last 5 years to present at international seminars and conferences,including invited lectures at National Nanotechnology Center (NANOTEC) (Bangkok, Thailand), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno (Campania, Italy), University of Opole, (Opole, Poland), and 5th International Symposium on Synthetic Peptide as Human and Veterinary Pharmaceutical Products, (Varadero, Cuba). His work has received over 39 news articles from national and international agencies, including 11 interviews and articles in 2021 from Australia, India, Pakistan, Hungary, Kenya and New Zealand for his work on the oral hookworm vaccine.

He is the Regional Editor of Australia for Vaccines and Associate Editor for Frontiers in Pharmacology. He has organised 9 special issues in the last 5 years for journals such as Vaccines, Molecules and Frontiers in Pharmacology. Furthermore, he organised and chaired “Micro and Nanoparticles in Drug and Vaccine Delivery Symposium”, St Lucia, QLD, 3rd December 2021. He regularly reviews domestic grants, for example, 13 NHMRC Ideas grants in 2024, as well as international, for example, Austrian Science Fund, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, The Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council (UK). Peer reviews >10/year for top international journals (e.g. Nat. Commun.; Adv. Sci.; Adv. Mater.; Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev; Acta Biomater.).

He was/is co/supervisor of 33 PhD students (graduated and ongoing), and co/supervisor of over 30 research students. In the years 2019-2025, his supervised students received eleven awards, including the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Higher Degree by Research Theses, and awards at international conferences (travel, best poster, best oral presentations).

Works

Search Professor Mariusz Skwarczynski’s works on UQ eSpace

212 works between 1995 and 2026

61 - 80 of 212 works

2021

Journal Article

Cell-penetrating peptides-based liposomal delivery system enhanced immunogenicity of peptide-based vaccine against group A streptococcus

Yang, Jieru, Firdaus, Farrhana, Azuar, Armira, Khalil, Zeinab G., Marasini, Nirmal, Capon, Robert J., Hussein, Waleed M., Toth, Istvan and Skwarczynski, Mariusz (2021). Cell-penetrating peptides-based liposomal delivery system enhanced immunogenicity of peptide-based vaccine against group A streptococcus. Vaccines, 9 (5) 499, 499. doi: 10.3390/vaccines9050499

Cell-penetrating peptides-based liposomal delivery system enhanced immunogenicity of peptide-based vaccine against group A streptococcus

2021

Journal Article

Poly(hydrophobic amino acid)-based self-adjuvanting nanoparticles for Group A Streptococcus vaccine delivery

Azuar, Armira, Li, Zhuoqing, Shibu, Mohini A., Zhao, Lili, Luo, Yacheng, Shalash, Ahmed O., Khalil, Zeinab G., Capon, Robert J., Hussein, Waleed M., Toth, Istvan and Skwarczynski, Mariusz (2021). Poly(hydrophobic amino acid)-based self-adjuvanting nanoparticles for Group A Streptococcus vaccine delivery. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 64 (5) acs.jmedchem.0c01660, 2648-2658. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c01660

Poly(hydrophobic amino acid)-based self-adjuvanting nanoparticles for Group A Streptococcus vaccine delivery

2021

Journal Article

A global review on short peptides: frontiers and perspectives

Apostolopoulos, Vasso, Bojarska, Joanna, Chai, Tsun-Thai, Elnagdy, Sherif, Kaczmarek, Krzysztof, Matsoukas, John, New, Roger, Parang, Keykavous, Lopez, Octavio Paredes, Parhiz, Hamideh, Perera, Conrad O., Pickholz, Monica, Remko, Milan, Saviano, Michele, Skwarczynski, Mariusz, Tang, Yefeng, Wolf, Wojciech M., Yoshiya, Taku, Zabrocki, Janusz, Zielenkiewicz, Piotr, AlKhazindar, Maha, Barriga, Vanessa, Kelaidonis, Konstantinos, Sarasia, Elham Mousavinezhad and Toth, Istvan (2021). A global review on short peptides: frontiers and perspectives. Molecules, 26 (2) 430, 430. doi: 10.3390/molecules26020430

A global review on short peptides: frontiers and perspectives

2021

Book Chapter

Peptide-Polymer Conjugation Via Copper-Catalyzed Alkyne-Azide 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition

Hussein, Waleed M., Toth, Istvan and Skwarczynski, Mariusz (2021). Peptide-Polymer Conjugation Via Copper-Catalyzed Alkyne-Azide 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition. Methods in Molecular Biology. (pp. 1-7) New York, NY United States: Humana Press. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1617-8_1

Peptide-Polymer Conjugation Via Copper-Catalyzed Alkyne-Azide 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition

2021

Journal Article

A potent vaccine delivery system

Zhao, Guangzu, Azuar, Armira, Toth, Istvan and Skwarczynski, Mariusz (2021). A potent vaccine delivery system. Bio-protocol, 11 (7) e3973, e3973. doi: 10.21769/bioprotoc.3973

A potent vaccine delivery system

2021

Book Chapter

Double conjugation using mercapto-acryloyl and alkyne-azide reactions for the synthesis of branched multiantigenic vaccine candidates

Hussein, Waleed M., Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2021). Double conjugation using mercapto-acryloyl and alkyne-azide reactions for the synthesis of branched multiantigenic vaccine candidates. Peptide conjugation: methods and protocols. (pp. 141-150) New York, NY United States: Humana Press. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1617-8_13

Double conjugation using mercapto-acryloyl and alkyne-azide reactions for the synthesis of branched multiantigenic vaccine candidates

2021

Journal Article

Antibodies to neutralising epitopes synergistically block the interaction of the receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 to ACE 2

Pandey, Manisha, Ozberk, Victoria, Eskandari, Sharareh, Shalash, Ahmed O., Joyce, Michael A., Saffran, Holly A., Day, Christopher J., Lepletier, Ailin, Spillings, Belinda L., Mills, Jamie-Lee, Calcutt, Ainslie, Fan, Fan, Williams, James T., Stanisic, Danielle I., Hattingh, Laetitia, Gerrard, John, Skwarczynski, Mariusz, Mak, Johnson, Jennings, Michael P., Toth, Istvan, Tyrrell, D. Lorne and Good, Michael F. (2021). Antibodies to neutralising epitopes synergistically block the interaction of the receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 to ACE 2. Clinical and Translational Immunology, 10 (3) e1260, e1260. doi: 10.1002/cti2.1260

Antibodies to neutralising epitopes synergistically block the interaction of the receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 to ACE 2

2020

Journal Article

A dual-adjuvanting strategy for peptide-based subunit vaccines against group A Streptococcus: lipidation and polyelectrolyte complexes

Zhao, Lili, Yang, Jieru, Nahar, Ummey Jannatun, Khalil, Zeinab G., Capon, Robert J., Hussein, Waleed M., Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2020). A dual-adjuvanting strategy for peptide-based subunit vaccines against group A Streptococcus: lipidation and polyelectrolyte complexes. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, 28 (24) 115823, 115823. doi: 10.1016/j.bmc.2020.115823

A dual-adjuvanting strategy for peptide-based subunit vaccines against group A Streptococcus: lipidation and polyelectrolyte complexes

2020

Journal Article

Carbohydrate immune adjuvants in subunit vaccines

Bashiri, Sahra, Koirala, Prashamsa, Toth, Istvan and Skwarczynski, Mariusz (2020). Carbohydrate immune adjuvants in subunit vaccines. Pharmaceutics, 12 (10) 965, 965-33. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12100965

Carbohydrate immune adjuvants in subunit vaccines

2020

Journal Article

Progress in the development of subunit vaccines against malaria

Skwarczynski, Mariusz, Chandrudu, Saranya, Rigau-Planella, Berta, Islam, Md. Tanjir, Cheong, Yee S., Liu, Genan, Wang, Xiumin, Toth, Istvan and Hussein, Waleed M. (2020). Progress in the development of subunit vaccines against malaria. Vaccines, 8 (3) 373, 1-19. doi: 10.3390/vaccines8030373

Progress in the development of subunit vaccines against malaria

2020

Journal Article

Development of polyelectrolyte complexes for the delivery of peptide-based subunit vaccines against group A streptococcus

Zhao, Lili, Jin, Wanli, Cruz, Jazmina Gonzalez, Marasini, Nirmal, Khalil, Zeinab G., Capon, Robert J., Hussein, Waleed M., Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2020). Development of polyelectrolyte complexes for the delivery of peptide-based subunit vaccines against group A streptococcus. Nanomaterials, 10 (5) 823, 823. doi: 10.3390/nano10050823

Development of polyelectrolyte complexes for the delivery of peptide-based subunit vaccines against group A streptococcus

2020

Journal Article

Lipopeptide-based oral vaccine against hookworm infection

Bartlett, Stacey, Eichenberger, Ramon M., Nevagi, Reshma J., Ghaffar, Khairunnisa Abdul, Marasini, Nirmal, Dai, Yang, Loukas, Alex, Toth, Istvan and Skwarczynski, Mariusz (2020). Lipopeptide-based oral vaccine against hookworm infection. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 221 (6), 934-942. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiz528

Lipopeptide-based oral vaccine against hookworm infection

2020

Journal Article

Non-invasive mucosal vaccine delivery: advantages, challenges and the future

Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2020). Non-invasive mucosal vaccine delivery: advantages, challenges and the future. Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery, 17 (4), 1-3. doi: 10.1080/17425247.2020.1731468

Non-invasive mucosal vaccine delivery: advantages, challenges and the future

2020

Journal Article

Development of natural and unnatural amino acid delivery systems against hookworm infection

Bartlett, Stacey, Skwarczynski, Mariusz, Xie, Xin, Toth, Istvan, Loukas, Alex and Eichenberger, Ramon M. (2020). Development of natural and unnatural amino acid delivery systems against hookworm infection. Precision Nanomedicine, 3 (1), 471-482. doi: 10.33218/prnano3(1).191210.1

Development of natural and unnatural amino acid delivery systems against hookworm infection

2020

Journal Article

Poly(amino acids) as a potent self-adjuvanting delivery system for peptide-based nanovaccines

Skwarczynski, Mariusz, Zhao, Guangzu, Boer, Jennifer C., Ozberk, Victoria, Azuar, Armira, Gonzalez Cruz, Jazmina, Kumar Giddam, Ashwini, Khalil, Zeinab G., Pandey, Manisha, Shibu, Mohini A., Hussein, Waleed M., Nevagi, Reshma J., Batzloff, Michael R., Wells, James W., Capon, Robert J., Plebanski, Magdalena, Good, Michael F. and Toth, Istvan (2020). Poly(amino acids) as a potent self-adjuvanting delivery system for peptide-based nanovaccines. Science Advances, 6 (5) eaax2285, eaax2285. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aax2285

Poly(amino acids) as a potent self-adjuvanting delivery system for peptide-based nanovaccines

2020

Journal Article

Polyacrylate–peptide antigen conjugate as a single-dose oral vaccine against Group A Streptococcus

Faruck, Mohammad Omer, Zhao, Lili, Hussein, Waleed M., Khalil, Zeinab G., Capon, Robert J., Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2020). Polyacrylate–peptide antigen conjugate as a single-dose oral vaccine against Group A Streptococcus. Vaccines, 8 (1) 23, 1-10. doi: 10.3390/vaccines8010023

Polyacrylate–peptide antigen conjugate as a single-dose oral vaccine against Group A Streptococcus

2020

Book Chapter

An isodipeptide building block for microwave-assisted solid-phase synthesis of difficult sequence-containing peptides

Hussein, Waleed M., Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2020). An isodipeptide building block for microwave-assisted solid-phase synthesis of difficult sequence-containing peptides. Peptide synthesis: methods and protocols. (pp. 139-150) edited by Waleed M. Hussein, Mariusz Skwarczynski and Istvan Toth. New York, NY, United States: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0227-0_9

An isodipeptide building block for microwave-assisted solid-phase synthesis of difficult sequence-containing peptides

2020

Journal Article

Lipids as activators of innate immunity in peptide vaccine delivery

Bartlett, Stacey, Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2020). Lipids as activators of innate immunity in peptide vaccine delivery. Current Medicinal Chemistry, 25 (17), 2887-2901. doi: 10.2174/0929867325666181026100849

Lipids as activators of innate immunity in peptide vaccine delivery

2020

Journal Article

Application of Fmoc-SPPS, thiol-maleimide conjugation, and copper(I)-catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloaddition "click" reaction in the synthesis of a complex peptide-based vaccine candidate against Group A Streptococcus

Dai, Chuankai, Stephenson, Rachel J., Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2020). Application of Fmoc-SPPS, thiol-maleimide conjugation, and copper(I)-catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloaddition "click" reaction in the synthesis of a complex peptide-based vaccine candidate against Group A Streptococcus. Methods in Molecular Biology, 2103, 13-27. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0227-0_2

Application of Fmoc-SPPS, thiol-maleimide conjugation, and copper(I)-catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloaddition "click" reaction in the synthesis of a complex peptide-based vaccine candidate against Group A Streptococcus

2020

Book Chapter

Preface

Hussein, Waleed M., Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2020). Preface. Peptide synthesis: methods and protocols. (pp. v-v) edited by Waleed M. Hussein, Mariusz Skwarczynski and Istvan Toth. New York, NY, United States: Springer.

Preface

Funding

Current funding

  • 2026 - 2030
    Oral anti-fertility vaccine for population control of invasive rabbits
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 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

Past funding

  • 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
  • 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

Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.

Available projects

  • A nanonaccine against Invasive Group A Streptococcus and Rheumatic Heart Disease

    The major challenge in any vaccine development is its formulation/delivery once the target antigens are identified. The main aim of this project is to adopt and further develop our immune-stimulating delivery systems to produce a multicomponent synthetic (poly)peptide vaccine candidate against Group A Streptococcus (GAS), the major causative agent of deadly diseases such as rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and invasive GAS infection. Notably, a variety of vaccines against GAS infection have reached clinical trials in the past decades; however, these vaccines have limited efficacy due to the high variability of GAS strains. We hypothesise that the incorporation of three conserved peptide antigens from GAS proteins into our newly developed nanoparticles-based vaccine delivery systems will overcome the above obstacles and produce an efficient and universal vaccine candidate against GAS. The project will deliver preclinical vaccine candidates against Group A Streptococcus, which, after oral dosing, will be able to induce robust opsonic antibody production against a wide range of GAS strains without triggering adverse effects and off-target immune responses. We will employ peptide antigens from the highly conserved region of M-protein, cell envelope proteinase, and fibronectin-binding protein 1. The optimized vaccine delivery system will be easily adaptable for the development of vaccines against other diseases.

  • Oral anti-fertility vaccine for rabbits

    Develop the first oral vaccines that suppress fertility in rabbits and enable responsible and ethical landscape population control. Expected outcomes of this project include the creation of a commercially attractive oral immunization platform.

    Who can apply: medicinal/peptide chemists with preferable knowledge in immunology and pharmaceutical formulations.

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

Need help?

For help with finding experts, story ideas and media enquiries, contact our Media team:

communications@uq.edu.au