Luke Johnson

Dr Luke Johnson is a Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Biochemistry and Microbiology at University College Dublin’s School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science (SBBS) and a Conway Institute Fellow. He leads an interdisciplinary research group that couples enzyme engineering with chemoenzymatic synthesis to create terpene natural products and semiochemicals for sustainable agriculture and human-health applications.

Education:

• BSc – University of Sheffield
• PhD – University of Sheffield (Structural enzymology of phosphoryl-transfer enzymes)

Research Interests:

Johnson’s programme centres on four inter-linked themes: (i) discovery and biosynthetic logic of terpene natural products, (ii) engineering terpene synthases and accessory enzymes for altered product profiles, (iii) developing modular chemoenzymatic cascades that convert inexpensive prenol precursors into complex terpenoids, and (iv) leveraging these technologies to produce insect pheromones and semiochemicals that replace broad-spectrum insecticides within Integrated Pest Management strategies.

Recent work focuses on scaling microbial fermentation of Solanum habrochaites-derived terpene semiochemicals to control hemipteran pests, an effort supported by BBSRC IAA and NetZero Innovation Institute funding.

Scientific Awards & Grants:

• Entrepreneur Lead, BBSRC ICURe Explore – CounTERPart Semiochemicals (2023)
• BBSRC Innovation-to-Commercialisation grant – “Advancing high-value terpenoidal semiochemicals for crop protection” (2023-2024)
• NetZero Innovation Institute Seedcorn – “In-situ biocatalytic production of terpene semiochemicals” (2022)

Research Team & Infrastructure:

Johnson’s laboratory is embedded within SBBS and the Conway Institute at UCD, providing access to state-of-the-art facilities in structural biology, high-resolution NMR, and microbial fermentation. While no doctoral students are currently listed, active collaborations span Cardiff University, industrial partners in agri-tech, and translational programmes funded by BBSRC and Innovate UK.