DrLuke Johnson

I am a Lecturer | Assistant Professor in Biochemistry and Microbiology at the School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science (SBBS). My research focuses on discovery of terpene natural products and their biosynthesis, engineering enzymes and novel chemoenzymatic pathways, protein structure and dynamics and microbial engineering. I am enthusiastic about harnessing enzymes for sustainable and scalable production of pharmaceuticals and agrichemicals.

I am currently developing new methods to produce terpene pheromones and other semiochemicals for monitoring and control of insect pests and disease vectors for crop protection and human health. Volatile terpenes have growing application for sustainable species-specific alternatives to broad-spectrum insecticides as part of a wider Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach.

I received my PhD from the University of Sheffield, under the supervision of Prof Jon Waltho for using solution state NMR (19F, 15N, 13C) and other structural methods to investigate the mechanisms of phosphoryl transfer enzymes with metal fluoride analogues. This was followed by a postdoctoral research assistant position at Cardiff University with Prof Rudolf Allemann where I worked on engineering novel photoresponsive endonucleases for DNA editing and Light-Oxygen-Voltage domain photoreceptors. In 2020 I shifted research direction to develop novel chemoenzymatic methods for producing terpenes and their analogues from inexpensive allylic alcohols. This technology makes it feasible to synthesise terpene natural products and novel analogues for applications in agriculture and human health. I led the CounTERPart Semiochemicals team in BBSRC ICURe programme in 2023 to explore the commercial potential of semiochemicals and received BBSRC IAA funding (2023 - 2024) for microbial production of semiochemicals for crop protection. In 2025, I moved to UCD to join SBBS and the Conway Institute.

SBBS | Conway Fellow | UCD | Terpene natural products | Semiochemicals | Enzyme engineering | Chemoenzymatic synthesis