Associate Professor Mariusz Skwarczynski
Associate Professor

Mariusz Skwarczynski

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 334 69894

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

Fields of research

Medicinal and biomolecular chemistry Organic chemistry

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.

Search Professor Mariusz Skwarczynski’s works on UQ eSpace

205 works between 1995 and 2025
All (205) Journal Article (172) Book Chapter (19) Conference Publication (9) Book (2) Other Outputs (3)

161 - 180 of 205 works

2012

Conference Publication

Nanoparticles-based peptide subunit vaccines against group A Streptococcus

Skwarczynski, M., Fuaad, A. A. H. A., Zaman, M., Jia, Z., Kowapradit, J., Rustanti, L., Ziora, Z. M., Monteiro, M. L. J., Batzloff, M. R., Goodc, M. F. and Toth, I. (2012). Nanoparticles-based peptide subunit vaccines against group A Streptococcus. 32nd European Peptide Symposium, Athens, Greece, 2-7 September 2012. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1002/psc.2448

Nanoparticles-based peptide subunit vaccines against group A Streptococcus

2011

Journal Article

Synthesis of glycolipopeptidic building blocks for carbohydrate receptor discovery

Ziora, Zyta M., Wimmer, Norbert, New, Roger, Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2011). Synthesis of glycolipopeptidic building blocks for carbohydrate receptor discovery. Carbohydrate Research, 346 (12), 1439-1444. doi: 10.1016/j.carres.2011.03.019

Synthesis of glycolipopeptidic building blocks for carbohydrate receptor discovery

2011

Journal Article

Peptide-based subunit nanovaccines

Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2011). Peptide-based subunit nanovaccines. Current Drug Delivery, 8 (3), 282-289. doi: 10.2174/156720111795256192

Peptide-based subunit nanovaccines

2011

Journal Article

Self-adjuvanting polyacrylic nanoparticulate delivery system for Group A streptococcus (GAS) vaccine

Zaman, Mehfuz, Skwarczynski, Mariusz, Malcolm, Jessica M., Urbani, Carl N., Jia, Zhongfan, Batzloff, Michael R., Good, Michael F., Monteiro, Michael J. and Toth, Istvan (2011). Self-adjuvanting polyacrylic nanoparticulate delivery system for Group A streptococcus (GAS) vaccine. Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine, 7 (2), 168-173. doi: 10.1016/j.nano.2010.10.002

Self-adjuvanting polyacrylic nanoparticulate delivery system for Group A streptococcus (GAS) vaccine

2011

Journal Article

Group A streptococcal vaccine candidates based on the conserved conformational epitope from M protein

Skwarczynski, Mariusz, Ahmad Fuaad, Abdullah A. H., Rustanti, Lina, Ziora, Zyta M., Aqil, Mohammed, Batzloff, Michael R., Good, Michael F. and Toth, Istvan (2011). Group A streptococcal vaccine candidates based on the conserved conformational epitope from M protein. Drug Delivery Letters, 1 (1), 2-8. doi: 10.2174/2210304X11101010002

Group A streptococcal vaccine candidates based on the conserved conformational epitope from M protein

2011

Journal Article

Pro-apoptotic activity of lipidic alpha-amino acids isolated from Protopalythoa variabilis (vol 18, pg 7997, 2010)

Wilke, DV, Jimenez, PC, Araujo, RM, da Silva, WMB, Pessoa, ODL, Silveira, ER, Pessoa, C, de Moraes, MO, Skwarczynski, M, Simerska, P, Toth, I and Costa-Lotufo, LV (2011). Pro-apoptotic activity of lipidic alpha-amino acids isolated from Protopalythoa variabilis (vol 18, pg 7997, 2010). Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, 19 (3), 1366-1366. doi: 10.1016/j.bmc.2010.12.041

Pro-apoptotic activity of lipidic alpha-amino acids isolated from Protopalythoa variabilis (vol 18, pg 7997, 2010)

2011

Conference Publication

Dendritic delivery systems for peptide vaccines

Toth, Istvan, Simerska, Pavla and Skwarczynsky, Mariusz (2011). Dendritic delivery systems for peptide vaccines. 1st European Conference of Microbiology and Immunology, Budapest, Hungary, 12-14 May 2011. Budapest, Hungary: Akademiai Kiado. doi: 10.1556/EuJMI.1.2011.2.1

Dendritic delivery systems for peptide vaccines

2011

Book Chapter

Lipid core peptide system for self-adjuvanting synthetic vaccine delivery

Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2011). Lipid core peptide system for self-adjuvanting synthetic vaccine delivery. Bioconjugation protocols: Strategies and methods. (pp. 297-308) edited by Sonny S. S. Mark. New York , U.S.A: Humana Press. doi: 10.1007/978-1-61779-151-2_18

Lipid core peptide system for self-adjuvanting synthetic vaccine delivery

2011

Book Chapter

Medicinal chemistry of a-hydroxy-b-amino acids

Ziora, Zyta, Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Kiso, Yoshiaki (2011). Medicinal chemistry of a-hydroxy-b-amino acids. Amino Acids, Peptides and Proteins in Organic Chemistry: Volume 4 - Protection Reactions, Medicinal Chemistry, Combinatorial Synthesis. (pp. 189-234) edited by Andrew B. Hughes. Weinheim, Germany: Wiley-VCH. doi: 10.1002/9783527631827.ch6

Medicinal chemistry of a-hydroxy-b-amino acids

2010

Journal Article

Pro-apoptotic activity of lipidic α-amino acids isolated from Protopalythoa variabilis

Wilke, Diego Veras, Jimenez, Paula Christine, Araújo, Renata Mendonça, da Silva, Wildson Max Barbosa, Pessoa, Otília Deusdênia Loiola, Silveira, Edilberto Roch, Pessoa, Claudia, de Moraes, Manoel Odorico, Skwarczynski, Mariusz, Simerska, Paul, Toth, Istvan and Costa-Lotufo, Letícia Veras (2010). Pro-apoptotic activity of lipidic α-amino acids isolated from Protopalythoa variabilis. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, 18 (22), 7997-8004. doi: 10.1016/j.bmc.2010.09.027

Pro-apoptotic activity of lipidic α-amino acids isolated from Protopalythoa variabilis

2010

Journal Article

Polyacrylate dendrimer nanoparticles: A self-adjuvanting vaccine delivery system

Skwarczynski, Mariusz, Zaman, Mehfuz, Urbani, Carl N., Lin, I-Chun, Jia, Zhongfan, Batzloff, Michael R., Good, Michael F., Monteiro, Michael J. and Toth, Istvan (2010). Polyacrylate dendrimer nanoparticles: A self-adjuvanting vaccine delivery system. Angewandte Chemie (International Edition), 49 (33), 5742-5745. doi: 10.1002/anie.201002221

Polyacrylate dendrimer nanoparticles: A self-adjuvanting vaccine delivery system

2010

Journal Article

Polyacrylate dendrimer nanoparticles: a self-adjuvanting vaccine delivery system

Skwarczynski, Mariusz, Zaman, Mehfuz, Urbani, Carl N., Lin, I-Chun, Jia, Zhongfan, Batzloff, Michael R., Good, Michael F., Monteiro, Michael J. and Toth, Istvan (2010). Polyacrylate dendrimer nanoparticles: a self-adjuvanting vaccine delivery system. Angewandte Chemie, 122 (33), 5878-5881. doi: 10.1002/ange.201002221

Polyacrylate dendrimer nanoparticles: a self-adjuvanting vaccine delivery system

2010

Journal Article

ChemInform Abstract: Lipid Core Peptide System for Gene, Drug, and Vaccine Delivery

Zhong, Wei, Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2010). ChemInform Abstract: Lipid Core Peptide System for Gene, Drug, and Vaccine Delivery. ChemInform, 41 (4). doi: 10.1002/chin.201004268

ChemInform Abstract: Lipid Core Peptide System for Gene, Drug, and Vaccine Delivery

2010

Book Chapter

Toll-like receptor 2 mediated dendritic cell activation: Key target for lipopeptide vaccines design

Zaman, Mehfuz, Skwarczynski, Marius and Toth, Istvan (2010). Toll-like receptor 2 mediated dendritic cell activation: Key target for lipopeptide vaccines design. Dendritic Cells: Types, Life Cycles and Biological Functions. (pp. 63-80) edited by Lorraine C. Welles. New York, NY, U.S.A.: Nova Science Publishers.

Toll-like receptor 2 mediated dendritic cell activation: Key target for lipopeptide vaccines design

2010

Journal Article

Thymine, adenine and lipoamino acid based gene delivery systems

Skwarczynski, Mariusz, Ziora, Zyta M., Coles, Daniel J., Lin, I-Chun and Toth, Istvan (2010). Thymine, adenine and lipoamino acid based gene delivery systems. Chemical Communications, 46 (18), 3140-3142. doi: 10.1039/b924371b

Thymine, adenine and lipoamino acid based gene delivery systems

2009

Journal Article

Development of conformational mimetics of conserved Streptococcus pyogenes minimal epitope as vaccine candidates

Zhong, Wei, Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2009). Development of conformational mimetics of conserved Streptococcus pyogenes minimal epitope as vaccine candidates. Current Drug Delivery, 6 (5), 520-527. doi: 10.2174/156720109789941650

Development of conformational mimetics of conserved Streptococcus pyogenes minimal epitope as vaccine candidates

2009

Journal Article

Development of highly pure alpha-helical lipoglycopeptides as self-adjuvanting vaccines

Zhong, Wei, Skwarczynski, Mariusz, Simerska, Pavla, Good, Michael F. and Toth, Istvan (2009). Development of highly pure alpha-helical lipoglycopeptides as self-adjuvanting vaccines. Tetrahedron, 65 (17), 3459-3464. doi: 10.1016/j.tet.2009.02.060

Development of highly pure alpha-helical lipoglycopeptides as self-adjuvanting vaccines

2009

Journal Article

Lipid core peptide system for gene, drug, and vaccine delivery

Zhong, Wei, Skwarczynski, Mariusz and Toth, Istvan (2009). Lipid core peptide system for gene, drug, and vaccine delivery. Australian Journal of Chemistry, 62 (9), 956-967. doi: 10.1071/CH09149

Lipid core peptide system for gene, drug, and vaccine delivery

2009

Journal Article

Click peptide by use of the O-acyl isopeptide method: Production of Amyloid Beta peptide from water-soluble analogue

Taniguchi, Atsuhiko, Sohma, Youhei, Skwarczynski, Mariusz, Okada, Takuma, Ikeda, Keisuke, Prakash, Halan, Mukai, Hidehito, Kimura, Tooru, Hayashi, Yoshio, Hirota, Shun, Matsuzaki, Katsumi and Kiso, Yoshiaki (2009). Click peptide by use of the O-acyl isopeptide method: Production of Amyloid Beta peptide from water-soluble analogue. Peptide Science, 397-400.

Click peptide by use of the O-acyl isopeptide method: Production of Amyloid Beta peptide from water-soluble analogue

2009

Journal Article

Application of intramolecular migration reaction in peptide chemistry to chemical biology, chemical pharmaceutics and medicinal chemistry

Hayashi, Yoshio, Yamazaki, Yuri, Skwarczynski, Mariusz, Sohma, Youhei, Taniguchi, Atsuhiko, Noguchi, Mayo, Kimura, Tooru, Neuteboom, Saskia, Potts, Barbara, Lloyd, G. Kenneth and Kiso, Yoshiaki (2009). Application of intramolecular migration reaction in peptide chemistry to chemical biology, chemical pharmaceutics and medicinal chemistry. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, 611, 513-514. doi: 10.1007/978-0-387-73657-0_223

Application of intramolecular migration reaction in peptide chemistry to chemical biology, chemical pharmaceutics and medicinal chemistry

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

Past funding

  • 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

Availability

Associate Professor Mariusz Skwarczynski is:
Available for supervision

Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Poly(hydrophobic amino acids) as immune stimulators.

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Istvan Toth

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Poly(hydrophobic amino acids) as immune stimulators.

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Istvan Toth

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Hookworm vaccine: vaccine development toward clinical trials

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Istvan Toth

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Polymers and peptides for vaccine delivery.

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Poly(hydrophobic amino acids) as immune stimulators.

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Istvan Toth

  • Doctor Philosophy

    L-Rhamnose-based nanovaccine derived from poly-rhamnose backbone of Group A Carbohydrate (GAC) against Invasive Group A Streptococcus and Rheumatic Heart Disease

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Istvan Toth

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Polymers and peptides for vaccine delivery.

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Istvan Toth

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Development of silver nanoparticles as novel adjuvants in vaccine

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Istvan Toth

  • Doctor Philosophy

    A nanovaccine against Invasive Group A Streptococcus and Rheumatic Heart Disease

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Rachel Stephenson, Emeritus Professor Istvan Toth

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Delivery systems for novel vaccine candidates against infectious diseases

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Jazmina Gonzalez Cruz

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Development of poly(hydrophobic amino acids)-based immunopotentiators for subunit vaccines against infectious diseases

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Jazmina Gonzalez Cruz

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Development of poly(hydrophobic amino acids)-based immunopotentiators for subunit vaccines against infectious diseases

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Jazmina Gonzalez Cruz

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Novel Vaccine Designs of Adjuvants and Delivery Systems against Infectious Diseases

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Istvan Toth, Dr Rachel Stephenson

Completed supervision

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