Research outputs per year
Research outputs per year
Organisation profile
Organisation profile
At the Centre for Enzyme Innovation, we are working to solve one of the most pressing environmental issues facing our planet.
Learning from the natural world, we are delivering transformative enzyme-enabled solutions for the circular recycling of plastics.
Following a £5.8 million award from the Research England Expanding Excellence Fund in 2019, and a £1m award from the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership in 2020 through the HM Government Getting Building Fund, we have created state-of-the-art facilities and built a team of specialist multidiscipline researchers to deliver world-class research and innovation.
We currently have 30 scientists covering a wide range of disciplines including microbiology, molecular biophysics, biochemistry, enzyme engineering and synthetic biology, biotechnology, and more recently, polymer chemistry.
Hosted in our new custom laboratories, we have the expertise and facilities required to help tackle the challenge of plastic pollution and develop enzyme-based low energy, low carbon, biorecycling solutions.
Our research sits at the interface between enzymes and polymers with a focus on both pure and applied research in biocatalysis.
We are expanding our research and innovation activities to address the diverse range of plastics, including mixed waste streams and composites, materials that are often incinerated or end up in landfill and leak to the environment.
Our research is divided into 4 areas:
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Discover new enzymes from the environment that break down plastics
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Engineer these enzymes to enhance their activity, stability and yield
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Deploy enzymes by pilot scale fermentation and industry-ready formulations
- Apply these enzymes in proof-of-concept biorecycling and upcycling processes
UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. Our work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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Dive into the research topics where Centre for Enzyme Innovation is active. These topic labels come from the works of this organisation's members. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
Profiles
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Luisana Avilan
- Faculty of Science & Health, School of the Environment and Life Sciences - Senior Research Associate
- Centre for Enzyme Innovation
Person: Research, Academic
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Angie Beckett
- Faculty of Science & Health - Senior Technician
- Institute of Life Sciences and Healthcare
- Centre for Enzyme Innovation
Person: Support
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Victoria Bemmer
- Faculty of Science & Health, School of the Environment and Life Sciences - Senior Research Fellow
- Institute of Life Sciences and Healthcare
- Centre for Enzyme Innovation
Person: Research, Academic
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Engineering surface electrostatics affords control over morphological preference, synergy, and activity in polymer degrading enzymes
Oliveira Pessoa, L., Rudge, E. M., Zahn, M., Bemmer, V. L., Green, K. R., Pickford, A. & Lichtenstein, B., 6 Jan 2025, bioRxiv, 17 p.Research output: Working paper › Preprint
File4 Downloads (Pure) -
A high-throughput screening platform for engineering poly(ethylene terephthalate) hydrolases
Groseclose, T., Kober, E., Clark, M. A., Moore, B. R., Banerjee, S., Bemmer, V. L., Beckham, G. T., Pickford, A., Dale, T. & Nguyen, H., 17 Sept 2024, In: ACS Catalysis. 14, p. 14622−14638 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile44 Downloads (Pure) -
Artificial, biomimetic and hybrid enzymes: general discussion
Acevedo-Rocha, C., Bakshi, A., Bornscheuer, U. T., Campopiano, D. J., Čivić, J., Drienovská, I., Ehinger, F. J., Gomm, A., Góra, A., Green, A. P., Hanzevacki, M., Harvey, J. N., Hilvert, D., Huang, M., Jarvis, A. G., Kamerlin, S. C. L., Lichtenstein, B. R., Luk, L. Y. P., Lutz, S. & Marsh, N. G. & 17 others, , 23 Aug 2024, In: Faraday Discussions. 252, p. 354-386 33 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review
Student theses
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Engineering Enzyme Thermodurability for Improved Plastic Degradation in Bioreactors
Moore, B. R. (Author), Pickford, A. R. (Supervisor), Robson, S. (Supervisor) & von der Haar, T. (Supervisor), 10 Sept 2024Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis
File -
RNA Bio-Design: Developing Molecular Switch Components for Enzyme Expression Systems
Goddard, L. (Author), Callaghan, A. J. (Supervisor), Scarlett, G. (Supervisor) & Gowers, D. M. (Supervisor), 30 Apr 2024Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis
File -
The Microbiome of Two Estuarine Sponge Species and their Potential Dehalogenation Activities
Lamb, C. E. (Author), Watts, J. (Supervisor), Cragg, S. (Supervisor) & Robson, S. (Supervisor), 19 Dec 2023Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis
File
Datasets
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Site-Specific Iron Substitution in STA-28, a Large Pore Aluminophosphate Zeotype prepared using 1,10-Phenanthrolines as Framework-Bound Structure Directing Agents (dataset)
Shannon, M. D. (Creator), Dugulan, A. I. (Creator), Wright, P. A. (Creator), Dawson, D. M. (Creator), Lozinska, M. M. (Creator), Ashbrook, S. E. M. (Creator), Cox, P. A. (Creator), Bode, B. E. (Creator), Slawin, A. M. Z. (Creator), Mayoral, A. (Creator), Watts, A. E. (Creator) & Turrina, A. (Creator), University of St Andrews, 1 Jan 2020
DOI: 10.17630/89249deb-fdde-466b-934b-902a987f6fed, https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/datasets/sitespecific-iron-substitution-in-sta28-a-large-pore-aluminophosphate-zeotype-prepared-using-110phenanthrolines-as-frameworkbound-structure-directing-agents-dataset(89249deb-fdde-466b-934b-902a987f6fed).html
Dataset
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The role of Bmp and Fgf signalling in early embryonic head development
Schubert, F. (Creator), Robson, S. (Creator) & Dietrich, S. (Creator), NCBI, 8 May 2023
DOI: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/970268, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/970268
Dataset
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Developing enzyme-enabled circular recycling of PET bottles
Pickford, A. (PI), Bemmer, V. (CoI) & Lichtenstein, B. (CoI)
1/12/22 → 31/07/25
Project: Research
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CoMic: Correlative Multimodal Microscopy for Marine Invertebrates
Wood, C. (PI), Hughes, L. (CoI), Cragg, S. (CoI), Shipway, R. (CoI), Bemmer, V. (Team Member), Machado, P. (Team Member) & Martin, L. (Team Member)
1/12/20 → …
Project: Research
Activities
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PhD Examiner
Robson, S. (Examiner)
2 Dec 2024Activity: Examination and External Supervision types › Examination
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Microbiome (Journal)
Robson, S. (Editor)
4 Nov 2024Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editorial activity
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The Biochemical Society (External organisation)
Robson, S. (Member)
12 Oct 2024Activity: Membership types › Membership of network or group
Prizes
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Best Poster Award
Oliveira Pessoa, L. (Recipient), Nov 2022
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Conference Attendance Grant
Oliveira Pessoa, L. (Recipient), Mar 2023
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Researcher Development and Travel Grant
Oliveira Pessoa, L. (Recipient), May 2023
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)