Huadong Peng

Biography

Dr Huadong Peng is a Group Leader and Senior Research Fellow at the UQ's Biosustainability Hub, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), UQ. He is a Future Academic Leader in the Australia’s Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA), and part of ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology (CoESB). He earned his PhD from Monash University in Nov 2018, followed by postdoctoral training at Imperial College London and the Technical University of Denmark until Dec 2023. Prior to his PhD, he received his Master Degree from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2013 and a Bachelor Degree from China Three Gorges University in 2010. Additionally, he worked as a research associate at Novozymes (now Novonesis) from Nov 2013 to Jan 2015.

Since Jan 2024, Dr Peng has led the Yeast Engineering and Synthetic Biology (YESBio) research group (10-15 members), focusing on sustainable biomanufacturing. His research interests include 1) developing innovative synthetic biology tools, such as gene assembly methods, CRISPR-based genome editing tools, and biosensors; 2) modular metabolic engineering for advanced microbial cell factories, 3) synthetic microbial communities and 4) emerging Bio+ enabling technologies for applications in food ingredients, biochemicals, biofuels, and biomedicines.

Dr Peng secured $4.8M funding as Chief Investigator ($2.1M to his team), including the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship. He has published 40+ peer-reviewed papers in prestigious journals, including Nature Microbiology, Nature Chemical Biology, Nature Communications. He actively contributes to the scientific community through editorial roles, including Associate Editor for Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology and Youth Editor for The Innovation (IF 26), BioDesign Research and mLife. He is also an invited peer reviewer for 30+ international journals and grants such as Nature Synthesis, ACS Synthetic Biology, etc.

Dr Peng is looking for highly motivated Honours, Master and PhD students, and highly competitive full scholarship may be provided. The University of Queensland ranks in the top 50 as measured by the Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities. The University also ranks 45 in the QS World University Rankings, 52 in the US News Best Global Universities Rankings, 60 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and 55 in the Academic Ranking of World Universities.

Industry

Dr Peng is keen to translate the technologies developed by his team into real-world commercial applications, including advanced microbial cell factories, synthetic microbial communities, and optimised bioprocesses. These innovations enable the delivery of sustainable bio-solutions for industrial sectors spanning agri-food, industrial biotechnology and human health. He has established close collaborations with industry partners such as Woodside Energy, Noumi Operations, and Cauldron Fermentation, and he is actively engaging with additional partners, including Levur and NeweraBio.

Dr Peng has experience consulting with multiple companies and is open to taking on casual consulting roles as opportunities arise.

Selected Funding & Awards

Dr Peng has secured $4.8M funding as Chief Investigator ($2.1M to his team), including

• 2025 Australia’s Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA)-Cauldron ferm, $2M, CIB
• 2025 Australia’s Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA)-Noumi Operations, $2M, co-CIA
• 2025 NCRIS Synthetic Biology Voucher Scheme, $40K, CIA
• 2024 UQ Biosustainability hub seed funding, $50K, CIA
• 2024 Australia’s Food and Beverage Accelerator seed funding, $160K, CIA
• 2023 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad, $15K
• 2022 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship ($266K, 8% success rate)

Key Publications (#, co-first author; *, corresponding author)

1. Chen, H.#, Peng, H.#, Ellis, T., & Ledesma-Amaro, R. Programmable cell–cell adhesion in synthetic yeast communities for improved bioproduction. Nature Chemical Biology 2026. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-02081-1
2. Peng, H.; Darlington, A. P. S.; South, E. J.; Chen, H.-H.; Jiang, W.; Ledesma-Amaro, R*. A molecular toolkit of cross-feeding strains for engineering synthetic yeast communities. Nature Microbiology 2024. 9(3), 848-863.
3. Park Y.-K., Peng H, Hapeta P., Sellés Vidal L. and Ledesma-Amaro R*. Engineered cross-feeding creates inter- and intra-species synthetic yeast communities with enhanced bioproduction. Nature Communications 2024, 15(1): 8924.
4. Aulakh S#, Vidal L#, South E#, Peng H, Varma S, Herrera-Dominguez L, Ralser M*, Ledesma-Amaro R*. Spontaneously establishing syntrophic yeast communities improves biosynthetic yield through shared labour. Nature Chemical Biology 2023, 19(8), 951-961.
5. Jiang W, Hernández V-D, Peng H, Liu L, Haritos VS, Ledesma-Amaro R* Metabolic engineering strategies to enable microbial utilization of C1 feedstocks. Nature Chemical Biology 2021, 17(8), 845-855. `
6. P Gao, Sun H., Ledesma-Amaro R., Marcellin E. and Peng H.* Advancements and Challenges in the Bioproduction of Raspberry Ketone by Precision Fermentation. Future Foods 2025: 100606.
7. Wen, Q., Xu, X., He, Q., Wang, C., Chen, Z., Zhong, W., Peng, H.*, Yang, M.*, & Xing, J*. Dual-pathway engineering enables robust vanillin bioproduction in Pseudomonas putida. Chemical Engineering Journal 2025, 526.
8. Peng, H.*; Chen, R.; Shaw, W. M.; Hapeta, P.; Jiang, W.; Bell, D. J.; Ellis, T.; Ledesma-Amaro, R*. Modular Metabolic Engineering and Synthetic Coculture Strategies for the Production of Aromatic Compounds in Yeast. ACS Synthetic Biology 2023, 12 (6), 1739-1749.
9. Peng, H.; He, L.; Haritos, V. S*. Flow-cytometry-based physiological characterisation and transcriptome analyses reveal a mechanism for reduced cell viability in yeast engineered for increased lipid content. Biotechnology for Biofuels 2019, 12 (1), 98.
10. Peng, H.; Chen, H.; Qu, Y.; Li, H.; Xu, J*. Bioconversion of different sizes of microcrystalline cellulose pretreated by microwave irradiation with/without NaOH. Applied Energy 2014, 117 (0), 142-148

Updated on 2 Jan 2026