George Enninful

Research Title: Antimicrobial Peptides

Research Abstract

Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) are usually broad spectrum antimicrobials that are being investigated by various groups for use to treat antibiotic-resistant infections. However, the application of AMPs is limited due to their susceptibility to degradation and toxicity to host cell. These deficiencies may be overcome by the incorporation of non-canonical amino acids (NCAA) into the amino acid sequence of AMPs. This is an attractive route for improving the properties of antimicrobial peptides and to expand their applications beyond the clinical setting.

Whilst solid-state chemical synthesis of peptides are used for such incorporations in small peptides it would be a challenge to synthesise larger ones in this fashion. The expansion of the genetic code for the incorporation of NCAA is an alternative method that is gaining traction. It offers a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way of producing peptides containing modified amino acids. My research will entail enhancing the properties of AMPs by introducing NCAAs and eventually engineering microbial cell factories (E. coli or other agents) to produce NCAA-containing AMPs.

BIOGRAPHY

George Enninful holds a Masters’ of Engineering degree from the Hanbat National University South Korea (HBNU, 2020). Prior to that he was a research trainee in the Molecular Biotechnology lab, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at HBNU. After a bachelors in Biochemistry in 2015 from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST, Ghana), George took up the role of research assistant in microbiology for 2 years.

His research interests lie in recombinant protein expression systems, engineering microbial cell factories, synthetic biology and combating antimicrobial resistance through Antimicrobial Peptides.

Education

Awards

UNSW-UIPA

Hanbat National University Scholarship

Conference attendance

George N. ENNINFUL & Chang Sup KIM, 2020 Auto-inducible Co-expression of Non-toxic and Toxic Target Proteins in Escherichia coli, 2020 Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering: Fall Meeting and International Symposium .

George N. ENNINFUL & Chang Sup KIM, 2020 Dual-plasmid Expression System Using Synthetic Stationary-phase Promoters in Escherichia coli, 2020 Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering: Fall Meeting and International Symposium

George N. ENNINFUL & Chang Sup KIM, 2019 Recombinant Protein Expression in Escherichia coli Using Synthetic Stationary-phase Promoters Federation of Korean Microbiological Societies Annual Meeting.

George N. ENNINFUL & Chang Sup KIM, 2019 Screening of Natural Stationary-phase Promoters for Recombinant Protein Expression in Escherichia coli. Federation of Korean Microbiological Societies Annual Meeting.

George N. ENNINFUL & Chang Sup KIM, 2019 Expression of Truncated HA2 Variants Containing Fusion Peptide of Influenza A Virus in Escherichia coli. Federation of Korean Microbiological Societies Annual Meeting.

George N. ENNINFUL & Chang Sup KIM, 2018 Recombinant protein expression in Escherichia coli using natural stationary-phase promoters The Korean Society for Biotechnology and Technology Autumn Conference and Industry-Academic Cooperation Symposium.

Affiliations and memberships

The Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering