![Professor Gary Schenk](/sites/default/files/profiles/387.jpeg)
Overview
Background
I obtained a Diploma in Chemistry from the University of Bern in Switzerland in 1992. Upon receiving the award of an International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS) I joined The University of Queensland (UQ) in 1993 to carry out research towards a PhD in Biochemistry(supervisors: Assoc. Profs. Peter Nixon and Ron Duggleby). I graduated in 1997 and continued postdoctoral research at UQ under the guidance of Profs John de Jersey, Susan Hamilton and Graeme Hanson. During this period, I was awarded Fellowships from both the Wellcome Trust and UQ. In 2000 I spent several months in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, collaborating with Prof. Geoff Sykes, and later that year I commenced a Senior Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Chemistry Department at Stanford University (advisor: Prof. Edward Solomon). In 2003 I was appointed to a Lectureship in (Bio)Physical Chemistry at UQ. In 2006 I was promoted to Senior Lecturer. Following the award of a UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award (in 2007) I was promoted to Associate Professor (in 2008), and between 2011 and 2013 I was also on a fractional professorial appointment (50%) at Maynooth University, Ireland. From 2013 to 2017 I held a Future Fellowship from the Australian Research Council, and during this period I was promoted to Full Professor at UQ (2015). I also hold affiliate professorships in the Sustainable Minerals Institute and the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, both located at UQ.
I have successfully focused my research on the investigation of enzyme-catalysed reactions, their optimisation for applications in biotechnology and the synthesis of small molecules that mimic their structure and catalytic function (i.e. biomimetics). I advanced understanding of the contribution of metals to enzyme-catalysed reactions and employed state-of-the-art technologies (e.g. cryo-EM, ancestral gene reconstruction) to develop enzyme inhibitors as leads for novel biocides (herbicides, fungicides, antibacterial compounds) and engineer enzymes with enhanced catalytic properties for industrial applications in the advanced manufacturing sector (i.e. cell-free enzyme cascades, next-gen fertilisers). My work into enzyme mechanisms, regulation and engineering received international acclaim evidenced by invitations to provide plenary and keynote lectures and review articles in prestigious journals. I have published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, including over 40 papers in the ACS staple (J. Am. Chem. Soc, ACS Catalysis, ACS Sus. Chem. Eng., Inorg. Chem, Chem. Rev., Acc. Chem. Rev.) as well as landmark studies in Nature, Nature Catalysis, Nature Communications and Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA). For my leadership in enzymology I was awarded a Future Fellowship by the Australian Research Council, a Foundation Research Excellence Award by UQ and, most recently, the prestigious role as Ambassador for the Technical University of Munich (TUM), an honour bestowed upon me also for my leading role in building an extensive network of collaborations between UQ and TUM in the areas of bioengineering and bioeconomy. The network has since evolved into the Global Bioeconomy Alliance.
Availability
- Professor Gary Schenk is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Research interests
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Application of enzyme-driven processes in the bioeconomy
I am interested in discovering and engineering enzymes for applications in biomanufacturing and bioremediation
Works
Search Professor Gary Schenk’s works on UQ eSpace
2020
Journal Article
Polynuclear zinc(II) complexes of thiosemicarbazone: synthesis, X-ray structure and biological evaluation
Saswati, Mohanty, Monalisa, Banerjee, Atanu, Biswal, Sonaleen, Horn, Adolfo, Schenk, Gerhard, Brzezinski, Krzysztof, Sinn, Ekkehard, Reuter, Hans and Dinda, Rupam (2020). Polynuclear zinc(II) complexes of thiosemicarbazone: synthesis, X-ray structure and biological evaluation. Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, 203 110908, 110908. doi: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2019.110908
2020
Journal Article
Functional analysis of the Mn2+ requirement in the catalysis of ureohydrolases arginase and agmatinase - a historical perspective
Uribe, Elena, Reyes, María-Belen, Martínez, Ignacio, Mella, Kelly, Salas, Mónica, Tarifeño-Saldivia, Estefanía, López, Vasthi, García-Robles, María, Martínez-Oyanedel, José, Figueroa, Maximiliano, Carvajal, Nelson and Schenk, Gerhard (2020). Functional analysis of the Mn2+ requirement in the catalysis of ureohydrolases arginase and agmatinase - a historical perspective. Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, 202 110812, 110812. doi: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2019.110812
2020
Journal Article
Synthesis, characterization and docking studies of amide ligands as anti-leishmanial agents
Imran, Muhammad, Javed, Tariq, Jabeen, Asma, Mehnaz, Gul, Ullah, Kalim, Shaheen, Nusrat, Khalid, Sofia, Amirzada, Muhammad Imran, Yameen, Muhammad Arafat, Hasan, S. M. Farid, Shah, Sajid Hussain, Rauf, Khalid, Schenk, Gary, McGeary, Ross, Pieters, Luc, Latif, Muhammad, Al-Kahraman, Yasser Msa and Hassan Bin Asad, Muhammad Hassham (2020). Synthesis, characterization and docking studies of amide ligands as anti-leishmanial agents. Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 33 (1 Supplement), 385-392. doi: 10.36721/PJPS.2020.33.1.SUP.385-392.1
2020
Journal Article
Engineering proton conductivity in melanin using metal doping
Mostert, A. Bernardus, Rienecker, Shermiyah B., Sheliakina, Margarita, Zierep, Paul, Hanson, Graeme R., Harmer, Jeffrey R., Schenk, Gerhard and Meredith, Paul (2020). Engineering proton conductivity in melanin using metal doping. Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 8 (35), 8050-8060. doi: 10.1039/d0tb01390k
2019
Journal Article
Synthesis, evaluation and structural investigations of potent purple acid phosphatase inhibitors as drug leads for osteoporosis
Feder, Daniel, Kan, Meng-Wei, Hussein, Waleed M., Guddat, Luke W., Schenk, Gerhard and McGeary, Ross P. (2019). Synthesis, evaluation and structural investigations of potent purple acid phosphatase inhibitors as drug leads for osteoporosis. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 182 111611, 111611. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2019.111611
2019
Journal Article
Editorial: Advances in the development of artificial metalloenzymes
Parac-Vogt, Tatjana N., Erxleben, Andrea, Schenk, Gerhard and Prabhakar, Rajeev (2019). Editorial: Advances in the development of artificial metalloenzymes. Frontiers in Chemistry, 7 599, 599. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2019.00599
2019
Journal Article
Guanidine- and purine-functionalized ligands of FeIIIZnII complexes: effects on the hydrolysis of DNA
Pereira, Claudia, Farias, Giliandro, Maranha, Filipy G., Castilho, Nathalia, Schenk, Gerhard, de Souza, Bernardo, Terenzi, Hernán, Neves, Ademir and Peralta, Rosely A. (2019). Guanidine- and purine-functionalized ligands of FeIIIZnII complexes: effects on the hydrolysis of DNA. Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry, 24 (5), 675-691. doi: 10.1007/s00775-019-01680-3
2019
Journal Article
The binding mode of an ADP analogue to a metallohydrolase mimics the likely transition state
Feder, Daniel, Gahan, Lawrence R., McGeary, Ross P., Guddat, Luke W. and Schenk, Gerhard (2019). The binding mode of an ADP analogue to a metallohydrolase mimics the likely transition state. ChemBioChem, 20 (12), 1536-1540. doi: 10.1002/cbic.201900077
2019
Journal Article
Expansin assisted bio-affinity immobilization of endoxylanase from Bacillus subtilis onto corncob residue: characterization and efficient production of xylooligosaccharides
Wu, Bin, Yu, Qi, Chang, Siyuan, Pedroso, Marcelo Monteiro, Gao, Zhen, He, Bingfang and Schenk, Gerhard (2019). Expansin assisted bio-affinity immobilization of endoxylanase from Bacillus subtilis onto corncob residue: characterization and efficient production of xylooligosaccharides. Food Chemistry, 282, 101-108. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.01.004
2019
Journal Article
Proteomics reveals profound metabolic changes in the alcohol use disorder brain
Enculescu, Charmaine, Kerr, Edward D., Yeo, K. Y. Benjamin, Schenk, Gerhard, Fortes, Marina R. S. and Schulz, Benjamin L. (2019). Proteomics reveals profound metabolic changes in the alcohol use disorder brain. ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 10 (5), 2364-2373. doi: 10.1021/acschemneuro.8b00660
2019
Journal Article
Relative catalytic efficiencies and transcript levels of three D‐ and two L‐lactate dehydrogenases for optically pure D‐lactate production in Sporolactobacillus inulinus
Wu, Bin, Yu, Qi, Zheng, Shan, Pedroso, Marcelo Monteiro, Guddat, Luke W., He, Bingfang and Schenk, Gerhard (2019). Relative catalytic efficiencies and transcript levels of three D‐ and two L‐lactate dehydrogenases for optically pure D‐lactate production in Sporolactobacillus inulinus. MicrobiologyOpen, 8 (5) e00704, e00704. doi: 10.1002/mbo3.704
2019
Journal Article
Synthesis and evaluation of novel purple acid phosphatase inhibitors
Hussein, Waleed M., Feder, Daniel, Schenk, Gerhard, Guddat, Luke W. and McGeary, Ross P. (2019). Synthesis and evaluation of novel purple acid phosphatase inhibitors. MedChemComm, 10 (1), 61-71. doi: 10.1039/c8md00491a
2019
Book
Advances in the Development of Artificial Metalloenzymes
Parac-Vogt, Tatjana N., Erxleben, Andrea, Schenk, Gerhard and Prabhakar, Rajeev eds. (2019). Advances in the Development of Artificial Metalloenzymes. Frontiers Research Topics, Lausanne, Switzerland: Frontiers Research Foundation. doi: 10.3389/978-2-88963-153-7
2019
Journal Article
Investigating coordination flexibility of glycerophosphodiesterase (GpdQ) through interactions with mono-, di-, and triphosphoester (NPP, BNPP, GPE, and paraoxon) substrates
Sharma, Gaurav, Hu, Qiaoyu, Jayasinghe-Arachchige, Vindi M., Paul, Thomas J., Schenk, Gerhard and Prabhakar, Rajeev (2019). Investigating coordination flexibility of glycerophosphodiesterase (GpdQ) through interactions with mono-, di-, and triphosphoester (NPP, BNPP, GPE, and paraoxon) substrates. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 21 (10), 5499-5509. doi: 10.1039/c8cp07031h
2018
Journal Article
A new mixed-valence Mn(II)Mn(III) compound with catalase and superoxide dismutase activities
Costal, Rafael O., Ferreira, Sarah S., Pereira, Crystiane A., Harmer, Jeffrey R., Noble, Christopher J., Schenk, Gerhard, Franco, Roberto W. A., Resende, Jackson A. L. C., Comba, Peter, Roberts, Asha E., Fernandes, Christiane and Horn Jr, Adolfo (2018). A new mixed-valence Mn(II)Mn(III) compound with catalase and superoxide dismutase activities. Frontiers in Chemistry, 6 (NOV) 491, 491. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2018.00491
2018
Journal Article
Engineering highly functional thermostable proteins using ancestral sequence reconstruction
Gumulya, Yosephin, Baek, Jong-Min, Wun, Shun-Jie, Thomson, Raine E. S., Harris, Kurt L., Hunter, Dominic J. B., Behrendorff, James B. Y. H., Kulig, Justyna, Zheng, Shan, Wu, Xueming, Wu, Bin, Stok, Jeanette E., De Voss, James J., Schenk, Gerhard, Jurva, Ulrik, Andersson, Shalini, Isin, Emre M., Bodén, Mikael, Guddat, Luke and Gillam, Elizabeth M. J. (2018). Engineering highly functional thermostable proteins using ancestral sequence reconstruction. Nature Catalysis, 1 (11), 878-888. doi: 10.1038/s41929-018-0159-5
2018
Journal Article
Synthesis, magnetic properties, and catalytic properties of a nickel(II)-dependent biomimetic of metallohydrolases
Horn, Adolfo, Englert, Daniel, Roberts, Asha E., Comba, Peter, Schenk, Gerhard, Krenske, Elizabeth H. and Gahan, Lawrence R. (2018). Synthesis, magnetic properties, and catalytic properties of a nickel(II)-dependent biomimetic of metallohydrolases. Frontiers in Chemistry, 6 441, 441. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2018.00441
2018
Journal Article
Purple acid phosphatase inhibitors as leads for osteoporosis chemotherapeutics
Hussein, Waleed M., Feder, Daniel, Schenk, Gerhard, Guddat, Luke W. and McGeary, Ross P. (2018). Purple acid phosphatase inhibitors as leads for osteoporosis chemotherapeutics. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 157, 462-479. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2018.08.004
2018
Journal Article
Formation of catalytically active binuclear center of glycerophosphodiesterase: a molecular dynamics study
Paul, Thomas J., Schenk, Gerhard and Prabhakar, Rajeev (2018). Formation of catalytically active binuclear center of glycerophosphodiesterase: a molecular dynamics study. The Journal of Physical Chemistry Part B, 122 (22), 5797-5808. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b02046
2018
Journal Article
Metabolic strategies for the degradation of the neuromodulator agmatine in mammals
Benítez, José, García, David, Romero, Nicol, González, Arlette, Martinez-Oyanedel, José, Figueroa, Maximiliano, Salas, Mónica, López, Vasthi, Garcia-Robles, Maria, Dodd, Peter R., Schenk, Gerhard, Carvajal, Nelson and Uribe, Elena (2018). Metabolic strategies for the degradation of the neuromodulator agmatine in mammals. Metabolism, 81, 35-44. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2017.11.005
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Gary Schenk is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Identification and characterisation of virally-encoded, antibiotic-degrading metalloenzymes
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Phil Hugenholtz
-
Doctor Philosophy
Optimisation of cell-free enzyme cascades for biomanufacturing
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Damian Hine
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Doctor Philosophy
Evolution of an efficient antibiotic resistance mechanism from a common enzymatic fold.
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Phil Hugenholtz
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Doctor Philosophy
EnzOnomy - an enzyme-based production pipeline for the bioeconomy
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Damian Hine, Professor Esteban Marcellin
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Doctor Philosophy
Cryo-EM inspired antifungal drug discovery
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Craig Williams, Professor Luke Guddat
-
Doctor Philosophy
Advancing the circular economy: phosphorus recycling and next-generation fertilisers
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Bronwyn Laycock, Professor Susanne Schmidt
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Doctor Philosophy
Antimicrobial Drug Discovery
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Luke Guddat
-
Doctor Philosophy
Engineering synthetic regulatory circuits for precise metabolic control in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Christopher Howard
-
Doctor Philosophy
Light-driven biocatalytic cell factories
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Ian Ross, Professor Ben Hankamer
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-
Doctor Philosophy
Metabolic and enzymatic diversity of native Australian yeasts
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Benjamin Schulz
-
Doctor Philosophy
Acetohydroxyacid Synthase and The Discovery of Novel Herbicides
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Luke Guddat
-
Doctor Philosophy
Biorecycyling carbon using acetogens
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Lars Nielsen, Dr Axa Gonzalez, Dr James Heffernan, Professor Esteban Marcellin
Completed supervision
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
Structure, function and inhibition of Fe-S cluster-dependent dehydratases from the ilvD/EDD family
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Luke Guddat, Professor Mikael Boden
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2021
Doctor Philosophy
Binuclear Metallohydrolases: Diversity in Structure and Function
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Luke Guddat
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2021
Doctor Philosophy
Characterising B1 Metallo-ß-Lactamases (MBLs)
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Mark Schembri
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2019
Doctor Philosophy
Drug Discovery Using Rational Structure-Based Design Approaches
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Luke Guddat
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2018
Doctor Philosophy
Opto-Electronic Properties of Melanin: Solid-State Characterisation via EPR, Conductivity, and Copper Chelation
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Jeffrey Harmer
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2017
Doctor Philosophy
Kinetic, mechanistic, structural and spectroscopic investigations of Bimetallic Metallohydrolases.
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Elizabeth Krenske
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2017
Doctor Philosophy
Metallo-ß-lactamase-like enzymes from non-pathogenic organisms: an illustration of functional promiscuity
Principal Advisor
-
2014
Doctor Philosophy
Organophosphate Hydrolases and their Mechanistic Flexibility: A Thermodynamic and Kinetic Study.
Principal Advisor
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2012
Doctor Philosophy
The development of new drug leads to combat bacterial resistance to antibiotics
Principal Advisor
-
2011
Doctor Philosophy
Structural and Functional Studies of the Organophosphate-Degrading Enzyme (OpdA) and Other Related Phosphoesterases
Principal Advisor
-
2010
Doctor Philosophy
Characterisation of the first bacterial purple acid phosphates from Mycobacterium marinum
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Luke Guddat
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2009
Doctor Philosophy
Structure and function of binuclear metallohydrolases: Enterobacter aerogenes glycerophosphodiesterase and related enzymes
Principal Advisor
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
Structure and function of ketol-acid reductoisomerases
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Luke Guddat
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
Immobilisation of human molybdenum enzymes for mediated electrochemical catalysis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Paul Bernhardt
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
Drug discovery targeting branched chain amino acid biosynthesis.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Luke Guddat
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2022
Doctor Philosophy
Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of Ketol-Acid Reductoisomerase Inhibitors: Potential Anti-Tuberculosis Drug Leads
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Luke Guddat
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2022
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding terpenoid metabolism in cyanobacteria
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Birgitta Ebert
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2021
Doctor Philosophy
Ketol-acid Reductoisomerase as a target for antimicrobial drug discovery
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Luke Guddat
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2021
Doctor Philosophy
The Synthesis of Potential Pharmacological Chaperones and Fluorogenic Substrates for MPS I, IIIA and VII.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Vito Ferro
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Characterising the effects of AUD on the human brain
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Marina Fortes, Professor Benjamin Schulz
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2018
Doctor Philosophy
Structure, mechanism and inhibition of plant and fungal acetohydroxyacid synthases
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Luke Guddat
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2018
Doctor Philosophy
Design, Synthesis and In vitro activity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Ketol-acid reductoisomerase (KARI) Inhibitors
Associate Advisor
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2017
Doctor Philosophy
Targeting acetohydroxyacid synthase for the discovery of antifungal and herbicidal agents
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Luke Guddat
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2016
Doctor Philosophy
Design, Synthesis and Testing of Novel Classes of Inhibitors Against Metallo-beta-lactamases: Towards Drug Leads to Combat Antibiotic Resistance
Associate Advisor
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2016
Doctor Philosophy
Optimisation of Lead Inhibitors of the Imipenemase-1 (IMP-1) Metallo-b-lactamase Enzyme
Associate Advisor
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2015
Doctor Philosophy
The Impact of the Second Coordination Sphere in Phosphatase Model Complexes
Associate Advisor
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2015
Doctor Philosophy
Synthesis of inhibitors against Metallo-ß-lactamase (IMP-1)
Associate Advisor
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2015
Doctor Philosophy
Design, Synthesis and Testing of Purple Acid Phosphatase Inhibitors for the Development of anti-Osteoporotic Drugs
Associate Advisor
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2013
Master Philosophy
Functional studies of rice KARI and inhibitor discovery
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Luke Guddat
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2013
Doctor Philosophy
Spectroscopic and mechanistic studies of dinuclear metallohydrolases and their biomimetic complexes
Associate Advisor
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2011
Doctor Philosophy
The Development of New Purple Acid Phosphatase Inhibitors: A Light into Anti-osteoporotic Drugs
Associate Advisor
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2008
Doctor Philosophy
Spectroscopic and mechanistic characterization of the Fe-Mn phosphatase isolated from sweet potato
Associate Advisor
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2005
Master Philosophy
FUNCTION OF KETOL ACID REDUCTOISOMERASE IN STABILISING MITOCHONDRIAL DNA
Associate Advisor
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