Tuck Seng Wong | Director, UK-SEA Vax Hub; Professor of Biomanufacturing
University of Sheffield
TSW is a Professor of Biomanufacturing at the School of Chemical, Materials, and Biological Engineering (CMBE), University of Sheffieldukse. He leads the £7.6M UK-South East Asia Vaccine Manufacturing Research Hub, supported by the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). He also serves as the Deputy Director of the National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC), a £38M initiative advancing sustainable, nutritious alternatives to animal proteins, paving the way for planet-friendly food systems. In addition to his roles at Sheffield, TSW holds adjunct appointments with the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC) in Thailand and the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in Indonesia. His contributions to the field have been recognized with prestigious fellowships, including the JSPS Invitational Fellowship (2023, which he declined due to his commitments to the hub), the RAEng | Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship (2019), the Royal Academy of Engineering Industrial Fellowship (2016), and the Medical Research Council Career Development Fellowship (2007). With over 20 years of expertise in protein engineering and engineering biology, his research has spanned biopharmaceuticals, enzyme biocatalysis, and alternative food production. He authored the highly regarded textbook A Practical Guide to Protein Engineering (ISBN: 978-3-030-56898-6), which has been translated into German (Ein praktischer Leitfaden für Protein Engineering, ISBN: 978-3-031-32826-8). Beyond academia, TSW is a serial entrepreneur. In 2022, he co-founded Evolutor Ltd, a biotech spinout in Sheffield developing advanced microbial strains for biomanufacturing through a proprietary accelerated evolution platform. In 2024, he co-founded ReNewFood Ltd, a company dedicated to creating novel protein-based flavor ingredients to enhance the taste and nutrition of alternative foods. TSW's passion for biomanufacturing has been shaped by the mentorship of some of the field’s luminaries, including Nobel Laureate Prof. Frances H. Arnold, Prof. Ulrich Schwaneberg, Prof. Sir Alan R. Fersht, and Prof. Alexander Steinbüchel.
Appearances:
Pre-Congress Workshops - 21st April @ 14:00
GLOBAL HEALTH - PARASITIC & NTD VACCINES
2.10pm – 3.10pm Parasitic disease vaccine development short talks:
4x 15min presentations
2.10pm Hookworm anaemia and malaria combination vaccine development
Dr Peter Hotez, Co-Director, Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Baylor College of Medicine
2.30pm Early development of a vaccine against visceral leishmaniasis * Title TBC
Dr Angamuthu Selvapandiyan, Professor, Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Interdisciplinary Studies and Technology, JAMIA HAMDARD
2.50pm Development of vaccines for lymphatic filariasis *Title TBC
Dr Ramaswamy Kalyanasundaram, Department Head, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Illinois College of Medicine
3.10pm Panel: Challenges in establishing correlates of protection and planning trials for NTD vaccines
· What are the difficulties in establishing COP for NTD vaccines
· Planning for ph2-3 trials – how can we innovate in creating pathways and designs?
Dr Ramaswamy Kalyanasundaram, Department Head, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Illinois College of Medicine
Michael, Senior Director, Principal Consultant DCS/BPE, Cencora
Additional panelists TBC
4.00pm Panel: Moving the needle: alternative pathways to approval & improving sustainability for global health vaccines (Parasitic & Neglected Diseases)
· Considering pathways to approval in different scenarios – in-country experiences
o Enabling different technology pathways
o From a local manufacturing perspective
· Moving from science to deployment – other than strong data what do we need to move these vaccines forward?
o Understanding incentives for production, government incentives to buy, individual country policies and regulatory requirements
o How is this challenge further compounded with diseases that are not fatal but have high morbidity burden?
o Case studies – Marburg, Hookworm,
· Improving stringency of regulatory agencies through new frameworks
· Can combinations deal with the issue of high burden but low interest? What would be the complications of combining these types of vaccines?
Moderator: Dr Maria Elena Bottazzi, Co-Director of Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Baylor College of Medicine
Javier Guzman, Director of Global Health Policy and Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development
Petro Terblanche, Managing Director, Afrigen
Prof Tuck Seng Wong, Professor, Sheffield University; Director, UKSEA Vax Hub
Dr William Hausdorff, Public Health Value Proposition Lead, PATH
Main Congress Day 2 - 23rd April @ 16:50
UK-SEA Vax Hub: Vaccine development in South East Asia – implementing a multi-platform approach
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