Associate Professor Keith Shearwin

Associate Professor/Reader

School of Biological Sciences

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

My Research
Career
Publications
Grants and Funding
Teaching
Supervision
Professional Activities
Contact

Overview

Our research integrates biochemistry, genetics and mathematical modelling to characterise fundamental mechanisms of gene control and how these elements are combined to create gene regulatory circuits with complex functions. Having a detailed understanding of the properties of natural regulatory circuits makes it possible to rearrange these components to build circuits with new and interesting behaviours - the emerging discipline of Synthetic Biology. We have a strong focus on using and developing mathematical modelling as a tool to advance understanding of gene regulatory mechanisms and systems, a tool that will be essential for the new ‘systems biology’ as molecular biology tries to move from characterizing the parts of cells and their simple interactions to understanding how these interactions combine to generate complex functions. We find that the process of attempting to construct a mathematical model of a biological system is valuable in itself - helping to clarify ideas, define assumptions and identify missing information. Once a model is made, comparison of the model with available experimental data can reveal shortcomings in either, leading to changes to the model or to improved data collection or interpretation. A consistent mathematical description is a powerful tool, providing precise predictions to aid further experimental tests, and allowing rapid exploration of the range of properties of the system to generate insights into design features.

Our primary experimental systems are two E. coli bacteriophages, lambda and 186. These temperate phages can replicate their genomes using alternative developmental pathways, lysis and lysogeny, and are some of the simplest organisms to make developmental decisions. Despite their relative simplicity, the phage systems combine a wide range of gene control mechanisms in complex ways and have many lessons to teach us. Bacteriophage lambda continues to be a key model system for many molecular biological processes; phage 186 is less well characterised but provides a powerful comparison with lambda, as it achieves similar outcomes using different regulatory circuits. The fundamental biochemistry shared by all living things means that the study of any organism, from phages to humans, continues to illuminate universal principles that apply to all organisms.

Projects available

Phage hunting – discovering new phage against medically important bacteria
Protein engineering of endolysins for enhanced bacterial killing
Precision engineering of bacteriophage genomes
Directed evolution of new protein activities

Appointments

Date	Position	Institution name
2017 - ongoing	Associate Professor	University of Adelaide
2010 - 2016	Senior Lecturer	University of Adelaide
2005 - 2009	Lecturer B	University of Adelaide
2001 - 2005	Research Fellow	University of Adelaide
1995 - 2000	ARC Australian Research Fellow	University of Adelaide

Education

Date Institution name Country Title
1987 - 1990 University of Queensland Australia PhD
1986 - 1986 Griffith University Australia BSc (Hons)
1983 - 1985 Griffith University Australia BSc
Postgraduate Training

Date Title Institution Country
1993 - 1995 Post-doctoral research University of Adelaide Australia
1990 - 1993 Post-doctoral research Brandeis University United States
Research Interests

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Biomolecular Modelling and Design Characterisation of Biological Macromolecules Microbial Genetics Synthetic Biology

Date	Institution name	Country	Title
1987 - 1990	University of Queensland	Australia	PhD
1986 - 1986	Griffith University	Australia	BSc (Hons)
1983 - 1985	Griffith University	Australia	BSc

Date	Title	Institution	Country
1993 - 1995	Post-doctoral research	University of Adelaide	Australia
1990 - 1993	Post-doctoral research	Brandeis University	United States

Journals

Year	Citation
2023	Nepal, R., Houtak, G., Bouras, G., Ramezanpour, M., Feizi, S., Shaghayegh, G., . . . Vreugde, S. (2023). Prophage acquisition by<i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>contributes to the expansion of Staphylococcal immune evasion. DOI
2023	Hao, N., Donnelly, A. J., Dodd, I. B., & Shearwin, K. E. (2023). When push comes to shove - RNA polymerase and DNA-bound protein roadblocks. Biophysical Reviews, 15(3), 355-366. DOI Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC2
2022	dos Remedios, C., Cranfield, C., Whelan, D., Cox, C., Shearwin, K., Ho, J., . . . Li, A. (2022). A special issue of the Australian society for Biophysics. Biophysical Reviews, 14(1), 1-2. DOI Scopus6 WoS4 Europe PMC5
2022	Shearwin, K., Nakamura, H., Berliner, L., & Hall, D. (2022). Editors’ Roundup: April 2022. Biophysical Reviews, 14(2), 423-425. DOI Scopus9 WoS9 Europe PMC8
2022	Liu, S., Hon, K., Bouras, G. S., Psaltis, A. J., Shearwin, K., Wormald, P. -J., & Vreugde, S. (2022). APTC-C-SA01: A Novel Bacteriophage Cocktail Targeting Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA Biofilms. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(11), 1-18. DOI Scopus8 WoS3 Europe PMC4
2022	Lu, Y., Voros, Z., Borjas, G., Hendrickson, C., Shearwin, K., Dunlap, D., & Finzi, L. (2022). RNA polymerase efficiently transcribes DNA-scaffolded, cooperative bacteriophage repressor complexes. FEBS Lett, 596(16), 1994-2006. DOI Scopus2 WoS2 Europe PMC2
2022	Harlington, A. C., Shearwin, K. E., Bell, S. G., & Whelan, F. (2022). Efficient O-demethylation of lignin monoaromatics using the peroxygenase activity of cytochrome P450 enzymes. Chemical Communications, 58(96), 13321-13324. DOI Scopus9 WoS1
2021	Hao, N., Sullivan, A. E., Shearwin, K. E., & Dodd, I. B. (2021). The loopometer: a quantitative in vivo assay for DNA-looping proteins. Nucleic Acids Research, 49(7), 1-16. DOI Scopus5 WoS5 Europe PMC4
2021	Truong, J. Q., Nguyen, S., Bruning, J. B., & Shearwin, K. E. (2021). Derivatization of protein crystals with I3C using random microseed matrix screening. Journal of Visualized Experiments, 2021(167), 1-19. DOI WoS1 Europe PMC1
2021	Truong, J. Q., Nguyen, S., Bruning, J. B., & Shearwin, K. E. (2021). Simplified heavy-atom derivatization of protein structures via co-crystallization with the MAD tetragon tetrabromoterephthalic acid. Acta Crystallographica Section F Structural Biology Communications, 77(5), 156-162. DOI Scopus2 WoS2 Europe PMC2
2021	Liu, S., Zhao, Y., Hayes, A., Hon, K., Zhang, G., Bennett, C., . . . Vreugde, S. (2021). Overcoming bacteriophage insensitivity in Staphylococcus aureus using clindamycin and azithromycinat sub-inhibitory concentrations. Allergy, 76(11), 3446-3458. DOI Scopus8 WoS5 Europe PMC5
2021	Cranfield, C., Whelan, D., Cox, C., Shearwin, K., Ho, J., Allen, T., . . . Li, A. (2021). Announcing the call for the Special Issue on "The Australian Society for Biophysics (ASB) - 2021 Meeting".. Biophysical reviews, 13(4), 1-2. DOI Scopus3 WoS2 Europe PMC3
2021	Hao, N., Chen, Q., Dodd, I. B., & Shearwin, K. E. (2021). The pIT5 Plasmid Series, an Improved Toolkit for Repeated Genome Integration in E. coli. ACS Synthetic Biology, 10(7), 1633-1639. DOI Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC1
2021	Aune, K., Lee, J., Prakash, V., Bhat, R., Andreu, J., Monasterio, O., . . . Charles, M. T. (2021). A tribute to Dr. Serge N. Timasheff, our mentor. Biophysical Reviews, 13(4), 459-484. DOI Scopus1 WoS1
2021	Hao, N., Agnew, D., Krishna, S., Dodd, I. B., & Shearwin, K. E. (2021). Analysis of infection time courses shows CII levels determine the frequency of lysogeny in phage 186. Pharmaceuticals, 14(10), 998-1-998-14. DOI
2021	Nepal, R., Houtak, G., Shaghayegh, G., Bouras, G., Shearwin, K., Psaltis, A. J., . . . Vreugde, S. (2021). Prophages encoding human immune evasion cluster genes are enriched in Staphylococcus aureus isolated from chronic rhinosinusitis patients with nasal polyps. Microbial Genomics, 7(12), 1-19. DOI Scopus11 WoS8 Europe PMC10
2020	Hayes, A. J., Satiaputra, J., Sternicki, L. M., Paparella, A. S., Feng, Z., Lee, K. J., . . . Polyak, S. W. (2020). Advanced resistance studies identify two discrete mechanisms in staphylococcus aureus to overcome antibacterial compounds that target biotin protein ligase. Antibiotics, 9(4), 1-20. DOI Scopus3 WoS3
2020	Cutts, E. E., Egan, J., Dodd, I. B., & Shearwin, K. E. (2020). A quantitative binding model for the Apl protein, the dual purpose recombination-directionality factor and lysis-lysogeny regulator of bacteriophage 186. Nucleic Acids Research, 48(16), 8914-8926. DOI
2020	Murchland, I. M., Ahlgren-Berg, N., Pietsch, J. M. J., Isabel, A., Dodd, I. B., & Shearwin, K. E. (2020). Instability of CII is needed for efficient switching between lytic and lysogenic development in bacteriophage 186. Nucleic acids research, 48(21), 1-12. DOI Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC2
2019	Hoffmann, S. A., Hao, N., Shearwin, K. E., & Arndt, K. M. (2019). Characterizing transcriptional interference between converging genes in bacteria. ACS Synthetic Biology, 8(3), 466-473. DOI Scopus10 WoS9 Europe PMC6
2019	Hao, N., Shearwin, K. E., & Dodd, I. B. (2019). Positive and negative control of enhancer-promoter interactions by other DNA loops generates specificity and tunability. Cell Reports, 26(9), 2419-2433.e1–e3. DOI Scopus18 WoS18 Europe PMC14
2019	Satiaputra, J., Sternicki, L. M., Hayes, A. J., Pukala, T. L., Booker, G. W., Shearwin, K. E., & Polyak, S. W. (2019). Native mass spectrometry identifies an alternative DNA-binding pathway for BirA from Staphylococcus aureus. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 2767-1-2767-13. DOI Scopus4 WoS3 Europe PMC2
2019	Hao, N., Crooks, M. T., Palmer, A. C., Dodd, I. B., & Shearwin, K. E. (2019). RNA polymerase pausing at a protein roadblock can enhance transcriptional interference by promoter occlusion. FEBS Letters, 593(9), 903-917. DOI Scopus4 WoS3 Europe PMC1
2019	Truong, J. Q., Panjikar, S., Shearwin-Whyatt, L., Bruning, J. B., & Shearwin, K. E. (2019). Combining random microseed matrix screening and the magic triangle for the efficient structure solution of a potential lysin from bacteriophage P68. Acta crystallographica Section D. Structural biology, 75(7), 670-681. DOI Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC2
2018	Hao, N., Shearwin, K. E., & Dodd, I. (2018). Control of Enhancer-Promoter Contact by Alternative DNA Loops.
2018	Satiaputra, J., Eijkelkamp, B., McDevitt, C., Shearwin, K., Booker, G., & Polyak, S. (2018). Biotin-mediated growth and gene expression in Staphylococcus aureus is highly responsive to environmental biotin. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 102(8), 3793-3803. DOI Scopus5 WoS4 Europe PMC3
2017	Hao, N., Palmer, A. C., Dodd, I. B., & Shearwin, K. E. (2017). Directing traffic on DNA - How transcription factors relieve or induce transcriptional interference. Transcription, 8(2), 120-125. DOI Scopus19 WoS17 Europe PMC15
2017	Hao, N., Sneppen, K., Shearwin, K., & Dodd, I. (2017). Efficient chromosomal-scale DNA looping in Escherichia coli using multiple DNA-looping elements. Nucleic Acids Research, 45(9), 5074-5085. DOI Scopus6 WoS6 Europe PMC3
2017	Hao, N., & Shearwin, K. E. (2017). Hidden secrets of sigma54 promoters revealed. Trends in Biochemical Sciences, 42(12), 931-932. DOI
2017	Hao, N., Shearwin, K., & Dodd, I. (2017). Programmable DNA looping using engineered bivalent dCas9 complexes. Nature Communications, 8(1), 1-12. DOI Scopus51 WoS47 Europe PMC33
2016	Satiaputra, J., Shearwin, K., Booker, G., & Polyak, S. (2016). Mechanisms of biotin-regulated gene expression in microbes. Synthetic and Systems Biotechnology, 1(1), 17-24. DOI Scopus27 WoS23 Europe PMC16
2016	Hao, N., Palmer, A., Ahlgren-Berg, A., Shearwin, K., & Dodd, I. (2016). The role of repressor kinetics in relief of transcriptional interference between convergent promoters. Nucleic Acids Research, 44(14), 6625-6638. DOI Scopus20 WoS16 Europe PMC12
2016	Munro, P., Ackers, G., & Shearwin, K. (2016). Aspects of protein-DNA interactions: a review of quantitative thermodynamic theory for modelling synthetic circuits utilising LacI and CI repressors, IPTG and the reporter gene lacZ. Biophysical Reviews, 8(4), 331-345. DOI Scopus6 Europe PMC2
2014	Murchland, I., Ahlgren-Berg, A., Priest, D., Dodd, I., & Shearwin, K. (2014). Promoter activation by CII, a potent transcriptional activator from bacteriophage 186. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 289(46), 32094-32108. DOI Scopus4 WoS4 Europe PMC5
2014	Priest, D. G., Kumar, S., Yan, Y., Dunlap, D. D., Dodd, I. B., & Shearwin, K. E. (2014). Quantitation of interactions between two DNA loops demonstrates loop domain insulation in E. coli cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA, 111(42), E4449-E4457. DOI Scopus19 WoS19 Europe PMC14
2014	Hao, N., Krishna, S., Ahlgren-Berg, A., Cutts, E., Shearwin, K., & Dodd, I. (2014). Road rules for traffic on DNA - systematic analysis of transcriptional roadblocking in vivo. Nucleic Acids Research, 42(14), 8861-8872. DOI Scopus35 WoS32 Europe PMC20
2014	Priest, D. G., Cui, L., Kumar, S., Dunlap, D. D., Dodd, I. B., & Shearwin, K. E. (2014). Quantitation of the DNA tethering effect in long-range DNA looping in vivo and in vitro using the Lac and λ repressors. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 111(1), 349-354. DOI Scopus40 WoS37 Europe PMC29
2013	Cui, L., St-Pierre, F., & Shearwin, K. (2013). Repurposing site-specific recombinases for synthetic biology. Future Microbiology, 8(11), 1361-1364. DOI Scopus1 WoS1
2013	St-Pierre, F., Cui, L., Priest, D., Endy, D., Dodd, I., & Shearwin, K. (2013). One-step cloning and chromosomal integration of DNA. ACS Synthetic Biology, 2(9), 537-541. DOI Scopus142 WoS138 Europe PMC97
2013	Cui, L., Murchland, I., Dodd, I., & Shearwin, K. (2013). Bacteriophage lambda repressor mediates the formation of a complex enhancer-like structure. Transcription (Austin), 4(5), 1-5. DOI Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC3
2013	Gao, N., Shearwin, K., Mack, J., Finzi, L., & Dunlap, D. (2013). Purification of bacteriophage lambda repressor. Protein Expression and Purification, 91(1), 30-36. DOI Scopus10 WoS9 Europe PMC9
2013	Wang, H., Dodd, I., Dunlap, D., Shearwin, K., & Finzi, L. (2013). Single molecule analysis of DNA wrapping and looping by a circular 14mer wheel of the bacteriophage 186 CI repressor. Nucleic Acids Research, 41(11), 5746-5756. DOI Scopus19 WoS19 Europe PMC13
2013	Cui, L., Murchland, I., Shearwin, K., & Dodd, I. (2013). Enhancer-like long-range transcriptional activation by λ CI-mediated DNA looping. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA, 110(8), 2922-2927. DOI Scopus30 WoS29 Europe PMC29
2011	Palmer, A., Egan, J., & Shearwin, K. (2011). Transcriptional interference by RNA polymerase pausing and dislodgement of transcription factors. Transcription (Austin), 2(1), 9-14. DOI Scopus72 WoS67 Europe PMC58
2011	Hao, N., Whitelaw, M. L., Shearwin, K. E., Dodd, I. B., & Chapman-Smith, A. (2011). Identification of residues in the N-terminal PAS domains important for dimerization of Arnt and AhR. Nucleic Acids Research, 39(9), 3695-3709. DOI Scopus33 WoS28 Europe PMC28
2009	Shearwin, K. (2009). Slow growth leads to a switch. Nature Chemical Biology, 5(11), 784-785. DOI Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC2
2009	Palmer, A., Ahlgren-Berg, A., Egan, J., Dodd, I., & Shearwin, K. (2009). Potent transcriptional interference by pausing of RNA polymerases over a downstream promoter. Molecular Cell, 34(5), 545-555. DOI Scopus69 WoS67 Europe PMC58
2008	Cao, X. R., Lill, N. L., Boase, N., Shi, P. P., Croucher, D., Shan, H., . . . Foot, N. (2008). Regulation of receptors, transporters and ion channels by the Nedd4 family of ubiquitin ligases. Proceedings of the Australian Physiological Society, 39, 11P.
2007	Schubert, R., Dodd, I., Egan, J., & Shearwin, K. (2007). Cro’s role in the CI–Cro bistable switch is critical for λ’s transition from lysogeny to lytic development. Genes & Development, 21(19), 2461-2472. DOI Scopus70 WoS66 Europe PMC62
2007	Dodd, I., Shearwin, K., & Sneppen, K. (2007). Modelling transcriptional interference and DNA looping in gene regulation. Journal of Molecular Biology, 369(5), 1200-1213. DOI Scopus18 WoS18 Europe PMC15
2006	Schubert, R., & Shearwin, K. (2006). How bacterial genes get turned on. Microbiology Australia, 27(3), 109-111.
2006	Pinkett, H., Shearwin, K., Stayrook, S., Dodd, I., Burr, T., Hochschild, A., . . . Lewis, M. (2006). The structural basis of cooperative regulation at an alternate genetic switch. Molecular Cell, 21(5), 605-615. DOI Scopus24 WoS26 Europe PMC25
2005	Trusina, A., Sneppen, K., Dodd, I., Shearwin, K., & Egan, J. (2005). Functional alignment of regulatory networks: a study of temperate phages. PLoS Computational Biology, 1(7), 599-633. DOI Scopus5 WoS17 Europe PMC17
2005	Shearwin, K., Callen, B., & Egan, J. (2005). Transcriptional interference - a crash course. Trends in Genetics, 21(6), 339-345. DOI Scopus434 WoS412 Europe PMC356
2005	Dodd, I. B., Shearwin, K. E., & Egan, J. B. (2005). Revisited gene regulation in bacteriophage λ. Current Opinion in Genetics & Development, 15(2), 145-152. DOI Scopus100 WoS95 Europe PMC76
2005	Sneppen, K., Dodd, I. B., Shearwin, K. E., Palmer, A. C., Schubert, R. A., Callen, B. P., & Egan, J. B. (2005). A mathematical model for transcriptional interference by RNA polymerase traffic in Escherichia coli. Journal of Molecular Biology, 346(2), 399-409. DOI Scopus84 WoS76 Europe PMC53
2005	Trusina, A., Sneppen, K., Dodd, I., Shearwin, K., & Egan, J. (2005). Functional alignment of regulatory networks: a study of temperate phages.. PLoS computational biology, 1(7). DOI Scopus17
2004	Callen, B., Shearwin, K., & Egan, J. (2004). Transcriptional interference between convergent promoters caused by elongation over the promoter. Molecular Cell, 14(5), 647-656. DOI Scopus133 WoS120 Europe PMC105
2004	Dodd, I. B., Shearwin, K. E., Perkins, A. J., Burr, T., Hochschild, A., & Egan, J. B. (2004). Cooperativity in long-range gene regulation by the λ CI repressor. Genes & Development, 18(3), 344-354. DOI Scopus148 WoS145 Europe PMC129
2002	Fotia, A., Dinudom, A., Shearwin, K., Koch, J. P., Korbmacher, C., Cook, D., & Kumar, S. (2002). The role of individual Nedd4-2 (KIAA0439) WW domains in binding and regulating epithelial sodium channels. FASEB Journal, 16(13), 70-91. DOI Scopus89 WoS83 Europe PMC63
2002	Shearwin, K. E., Dodd, I. B., & Egan, J. B. (2002). The helix-turn-helix motif of the coliphage 186 immunity repressor binds to two distinct recognition sequences. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 277(5), 3186-3194. DOI Scopus19 WoS19 Europe PMC19
2001	Neufing, P., Shearwin, K., & Egan, J. (2001). Establishing lysogenic transcription in the temperate coliphage 186. Journal of Bacteriology, 183(7), 2376-2379. DOI Scopus13 WoS12 Europe PMC11
2000	Shearwin, K., & Egan, J. (2000). Establishment of lysogeny in bacteriophage 186. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 275(37), 29113-29122.
2000	Shearwin, K. E., & Egan, J. B. (2000). Establishment of lysogeny in bacteriophage 186. DNA binding and transcriptional activation by the CII protein. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 275(37), 29113-29122. DOI Scopus13 WoS13 Europe PMC13
1998	Shearwin, K., Brumby, A., & Egan, J. (1998). The Tum Protein of Coliphage 186 Is an Antirepressor. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 273(10), 5708-5715. DOI Scopus64 WoS65 Europe PMC59
1997	Reed, M., Shearwin, K., Pell, L., & Egan, J. (1997). The dual role of Apl in prophage induction of coliphage 186. Molecular Microbiology, 23, 669-681. Scopus22 WoS22 Europe PMC20
1996	Neufing, P., Shearwin, K., Camerotto, J., & Egan, J. (1996). The CII protein of bacteriophage 186 establishes lysogeny by activating a promoter upstream of the lysogenic promoter. Molecular Biology, 21(4), 751-761. DOI Scopus18 WoS18 Europe PMC13
1996	Shearwin, K., & Egan, J. (1996). Purification and self-association equilbria of the lysis-lysogeny switch proteins of coliphage 186. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 271(19), 11525-11531. DOI Scopus15 WoS14 Europe PMC10
1994	Shearwin, K. E., & Timasheff, S. N. (1994). Effect of Colchicine Analogues on the Dissociation of αβ Tubulin into Subunits: The Locus of Colchicine Binding. Biochemistry, 33(4), 894-901. DOI Scopus43 WoS40 Europe PMC18
1994	Shearwin, K. E., Perez-Ramirez, B., & Timashef, S. N. (1994). Linkages between the Dissociation of αβ Tubulin into Subunits and Ligand Binding: The Ground State of Tubulin Is the GDP Conformation. Biochemistry, 33(4), 885-893. DOI Scopus25 WoS22 Europe PMC11
1994	Perez-Ramirez, B., Shearwin, K. E., & Timasheff, S. N. (1994). The Colchicine-Induced GTPase Activity of Tubulin: State of the Product. Activation by Microtubule-Promoting Cosolvents. Biochemistry, 33(20), 6253-6261. DOI Scopus19 WoS17 Europe PMC5
1992	Shearwin, K. E., & Timasheff, S. N. (1992). Linkage between Ligand Binding and Control of Tubulin Conformation. Biochemistry, 31(34), 8080-8089. DOI Scopus32 WoS36 Europe PMC11
1990	Shearwin, K., & Mazsters, C. (1990). The binding of glycolytic enzymes to the cytoskeleton - influence of pH. Biochemistry International, 22(4), 735-740. Scopus13 WoS14 Europe PMC8
1990	Shearwin, K. E., & Winzor, D. J. (1990). Thermodynamic nonideality as a probe of reversible protein unfolding effected by variations in pH and temperature: Studies of ribonuclease. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 282(2), 297-301. DOI Scopus26 WoS25 Europe PMC17
1990	Shearwin, K. E., & Winzor, D. J. (1990). Allowance for thermodynamic nonideality and Donnan effects in binding studies. Activity coefficients of charged ligands in the presence of albumin. Biophysical Chemistry, 36(3), 235-243. DOI Scopus5 WoS3
1990	SHEARWIN, K. E., & WINZOR, D. J. (1990). Thermodynamic nonideality in macromolecular solutions: Evaluation of parameters for the prediction of covolume effects. European Journal of Biochemistry, 190(3), 523-529. DOI Scopus38 WoS33 Europe PMC26
1990	Shearwin, K., Nanhua, C., & Masters, C. (1990). Interactions between glycolytic enzymes and cytoskeletal structure - The influence of ionic strength and molecular crowding. Biochemistry International, 21(1), 53-60. Scopus30 WoS27 Europe PMC20
1990	Shearwin, K. E., & Winzor, D. J. (1990). Effect of calcium ion on the dimerization of α-chymotrypsin. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)/Protein Structure and Molecular, 1038(1), 136-138. DOI Scopus6 WoS5 Europe PMC3
1990	SHEARWIN, K. E., & WINZOR, D. J. (1990). Thermodynamic nonideality in macromolecular solutions. European Journal of Biochemistry, 190, 523-529.
1989	Shearwin, K., Nanhua, C., & Masters, C. (1989). The influence of molecular crowding on the binding of glycolytic enzymes to cytoskeletal structure. Biochemistry International, 19(4), 723-729. Scopus9 WoS13 Europe PMC7
1989	Bergman, D. A., Shearwin, K. E., & Winzor, D. J. (1989). Effects of thermodynamic nonideality on the kinetics of ester hydrolysis by α-chymotrypsin: A model system with preexistence of the isomerization equilibrium. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 274(1), 55-63. DOI Scopus15 WoS13 Europe PMC8
1988	Shearwin, K. E., & Winzor, D. J. (1988). Substrate as a source of thermodynamic nonideality in enzyme kinetic studies: invertase-catalyzed hydrolysis of sucrose. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 260(2), 532-539. DOI Scopus19 WoS19 Europe PMC11
1988	Sherwin, K. E., & Winzor, D. J. (1988). Effect of sucrose on the dimerization of α-chymotrypsin allowance for thermodynamic nonideality arising from the presence of a small inert solute. Biophysical Chemistry, 31(3), 287-294. DOI Scopus49 WoS46 Europe PMC27

Book Chapters

Year	Citation
2020	Shearwin, K. E., & Truong, J. Q. (2020). Lysogeny. In Encyclopedia of Virology: Volume 1-5, Fourth Edition (Vol. 1-5, pp. 77-87). Elsevier. DOI Scopus1
2017	Cui, L., & Shearwin, K. (2017). Clonetegration using OSIP plasmids: One-step DNA assembly and site-specific genomic integration in bacteria. In R. Hughes (Ed.), Methods in Molecular Biology (Vol. 1472, pp. 139-155). New York: Humana Press. DOI Scopus5 Europe PMC3
2009	Palmer, A., & Shearwin, K. (2009). Guidance for data collection and computational modelling of regulatory networks.. In J. McDermott, R. Samudrala, R. Bumgarner, K. Montgomery, & R. Ireton (Eds.), Computational Systems Biology (Vol. 541, pp. 337-354). United States: Humana Press. DOI Scopus2 Europe PMC1

Conference Papers

Year	Citation
2022	Lu, Y., Borjas, G., Voros, Z., Dodd, I., Shearwin, K., Dunlap, D., & Finzi, L. (2022). Proteins mediating different DNA topologies block RNAP elongation with different efficiency. In BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL Vol. 121 (pp. 34). CA, San Francisco: CELL PRESS.
2011	Wang, H., Dodd, I., Shearwin, K., Dunlap, D., & Finzi, L. (2011). The 186 Bacteriophage Repressor as a Model System to Study Nucleosome Repositioning by Single Molecule Microscopy. In BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL Vol. 100 (pp. 230). Baltimore, MD: CELL PRESS.

Conference Items

Year	Citation
2019	Hao, N., Shearwin, K. E., & Dodd, I. B. (2019). Programmable DNA looping using engineered bivalent dCas9 complexes. Poster session presented at the meeting of Abstracts of the 27th FAOBMB & 44th MSBMB Conference. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Malaysian Society for Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (MSBMB).
2017	Hao, N., Shearwin, K., & Dodd, I. (2017). Understanding and Manipulating Chromosomal-Scale DNA Looping in Escherichia coli. Poster session presented at the meeting of 2017 Synthetic Biology: Engineering, Evolution & Design (SEED) : Proceedings. Vancouver, Canada.
2017	Hao, N., Priest, D., Dodd, I., & Shearwin, K. (2017). Programmable DNA looping in vivo. Poster session presented at the meeting of Australia-China Symposium on Synthetic Biology. Brisbane.
2016	Hao, N., Shearwin, K., & Dodd, I. (2016). Road Rules for Traffic on DNA: Gene Regulation by Encounters between Transcribing RNA Polymerases and DNA-bound Proteins. Poster session presented at the meeting of Synthetic Biology: Engineering, Evolution & Design (SEED). Chicago, USA.
2016	Hao, N., Shearwin, K., & Dodd, I. (2016). Understand DNA looping in vivo - a synthetic biology approach. Poster session presented at the meeting of OCE Cutting Edge Conference in Synthetic Biology. Canberra.
2015	Hao, N., Krishna, S., Shearwin, K., & Dodd, I. (2015). Road Rules for Traffic on DNA: Gene Regulation by Encounters between Transcribing RNA Polymerases and DNA-bound Proteins. Poster session presented at the meeting of 2nd International Synthetic & Systems Biology Summer School. Taormina - Sicily, Italy.
2015	Kumar, S., Priest, D. G., Yan, Y., Dodd, I. B., Shearwin, K. E., & Dunlap, D. D. (2015). Estimation of DNA Loop Interactions Supports the Loop Domain Model of Insulator Action. Poster session presented at the meeting of BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL. CELL PRESS. DOI
2014	Shearwin, K., Cui, L., Murchland, I., & Dodd, I. B. (2014). Long-range DNA looping in the lambda genetic switch. Poster session presented at the meeting of Abstracts of the 58th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society, as published in Biophysical Journal. San Francisco, CA: Cell Press. DOI
2013	Kumar, S., Priest, D., Biton, Y., Swigon, D., Shearwin, K., Dodd, I., & Dunlap, D. (2013). In Silico, In Vitro, and In Vivo Estimation of J-Factors for LAC Repressor-Mediated DNA Loop Formation. Poster session presented at the meeting of BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL. Philadelphia, PA: CELL PRESS. DOI
2012	Hao, N., Shearwin, K., Dodd, I., Whitelaw, M., & Chapman-Smith, A. (2012). Reverse Bacterial Two Hybrid: A New Tool for Studying Dimeric Protein Interactions. Poster session presented at the meeting of ASBMB ComBio conference. Adelaide.
2010	Wang, H., Dodd, I. B., Shearwin, K., Dunlap, D., & Finzi, L. (2010). Coliphage 186 genetic switch: a single molecule study. Poster session presented at the meeting of Meeting Abstracts. Biophysical Journal. San Francisco: Cell Press. DOI
2009	Hao, N., Shearwin., Dodd, I., Whitelaw, M., & Chapman-Smith, A. (2009). Reverse Bacterial two Hybrid (RevB2H) method for studying protein-protein interactions. Poster session presented at the meeting of Network in Genes and Environment in Development (NGED) Forum. Palm Cove, Queensland.
2009	Hao, N., Shearwin, K., Dodd, I., Whitelaw, M., & Chapman-smith, A. (2009). A novel Reverse Bacterial two Hybrid (RevB2H) method for studying protein-protein interactions and screening for potential therapeutics. Poster session presented at the meeting of Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR) SA Scientific Meeting. Adelaide.

Theses

Year	Citation
1990	Shearwin, K. E. (1990). Effects of thermodynamic non-ideality of protein interactions. (PhD Thesis).
1986	Shearwin, K. (1986). Interaction Between Glycolytic Enzymes and Contractile Proteins. (Undergraduate Dissertation).

Software

Year	Citation
-	Shearwin, K., Cutts, E. E., & Dodd, I. (n.d.). Matlab scripts for in vitro predictions [Computer Software]. DOI
-	Shearwin, K., Cutts, E. E., & Dodd, I. (n.d.). Matlab scripts for in vivo fitting [Computer Software]. DOI

Funding

Contract Research - Aushealth (2023)

Discovery and directed evolution of small molecule biosensors ARC Discovery Project DP230103062 (2023) Whelan, F., Shearwin, K., Potts, J. $522,724

Improving biorefineries by phage-assisted evolution of cytochrome P450 enzyme activity. BTF New collaboration scheme (2022) Shearwin, K., Bell, S., Hao, N., Whelan, F. Beltrame, L. and Harlington, A. $40,000

Biodegradation of Plastics via Bioengineered Enzyme Systems. Faculty of Sciences Research Roadmap Grant (2021) Whelan, F., Shearwin, K, Bell, S., Gillanders, B. $50,000

Engineering biosensors for smoke taint. Wine Australia top up scholarship to Alix Harlington. (2021-2023) Whelan, F., Shearwin, K., Wilkinson, K. $49,000

Engineering biosensors for wine spoilage. Wine Australia top up scholarship to Ranjith Cebreco Meemanage. (2021-2023) Whelan, F., Shearwin, K., Wilkinson, K. $49,000

Pesticide biosensor development and hybrid device integration for agricultural and environmental analytics. Sandland Bequest. (2021) Whelan, F., Shearwin, K, Bell, S., Wilkinson, K., Law, C., Santos, A. $25,000

Evolving phage derived proteins as potent anti-bacterial agents. BTF New collaboration scheme (2021) Shearwin, K.E. $30,000

Doing the sums: how circuit copy number affects genetic switches. BTF Near Miss Scheme (2021) Shearwin, K.E. (2021) $40,000

Developing orthogonal Cas/anti-Cas pairs as building blocks for genetic circuit design. CSIRO FSP Fellowship to Andrew Hao. (2017-2021) Hao, N., Shearwin, K.E., Dodd, I.B., Scott, C. $510,000

Synthetic biology tools for integration into bacterial chromosomes. ARC Discovery Grant DP160101450 (2016-2019) Shearwin, K.E. and Bikard, D. $410,000

Understanding and manipulating DNA looping in long range gene regulation. NHMRC Project Grant APP1100651 (2016-2019) Dodd, I.B., Shearwin, K.E., Sneppen, K. and Hao, N. $351,000

Flipping the switch: rational design of genetic circuits that respond to transient signals. ARC Discovery Grant DP150103009 (2015-2018) Shearwin, K.E., Dodd, I.B. and Sneppen, K. $241,000

Quantitative analysis of the DNA loop-domain model for long range regulation of transcription. Human Frontiers Science Program RGP0051 (2009-2012) Shearwin, K.E., Dunlap, D. and Swigon, D. $1,251,000 (total)

Road rules for traffic on DNA - gene regulation by encounters between transcribing RNA polymerases and DNA-bound proteins. ARC Discovery Grant DP110101470 (2011-2013) Dodd, I.B., Shearwin, K.E., and Sneppen, K. $300,000

Synthetic Biology - The Rational Design and Construction of New Genetic Circuits. ARC Discovery Grant DP110100824 (2011-2013) Shearwin, K.E., Dodd, I.B., Finzi, L. and Sneppen, K. $300,000

Understanding and controlling PAS domain interactions in basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors. NHMRC APP627140 (2010-2012) Chapman-Smith, A., Whitelaw, M.L., Shearwin, K.E. and Dodd, I.B. $608,000

Rational design of small genetic circuits for synthetic biology. ARC Discovery Grant DP0665185 (2006-2008) Shearwin, K.E. and Egan, J.B. $368,000

Transcriptional Interference in Gene Regulatory Decisions. NIH R01 (2006-2009) Egan, J.B., Dodd, I.B. and Shearwin, K.E. $526,000

The South Australian Facility for Small and Large Molecule X-Ray Diffraction Structure Determination. ARC LIEF(2009) Sumby, C.J, Shearwin, K.E. and 26 others $560,000

Biophysical Characterisation Facility. ARC LIEF Grant LE0882382 (2008) Brooks, D.A., Shearwin, K.E. (lead CI for University of Adelaide) and 14 others $245,000

Biophysical Characterisation Facility. AIB Labs (2008) Brooks, D.A., Shearwin, K.E. (lead CI for University of Adelaide) and 14 others $50,000

ARC Australian Research Fellowship (1996-2000) Shearwin, K.E. $400,000

Course coordinator: Biochemistry II (2021-)

In 2023 I am teaching in the following courses

Biochemistry II Molecular and Cellular Biology (course coordinator, lectures)

Biomedical Science IIA (lectures)

Biotechnology II (lectures)

Principles and Practice of Research I (interview)

Principles and Practice of Research II (mentor)

Principles and Practice of Research III (research placements)

Molecular and Structural Biology III (lectures, tutorials, practicals)

Cancer, Stem Cells and Development (Biomed) (PBL)

Cancer, Stem Cells and Development III (essays)

Masters in Biotechnology: Advanced Research Platforms (lectures)

Honours in Biochemistry (journal club; research grant proposal and thesis assessment)

Laboratory Placements

We host 3rd year laboratory placement students each year.

2023: Amal Mostafa

2022: Sarah Eisemann, Deannon Branch, Julia Leeflang, Jayden Revink

2020: Sonia Budnikova

2019: Emma Beecroft

2018: Smriti Singh, Grace Tulysewski

2017: Khalia Primer

2016: Emi Schutz, Daniel Reed

2015: Jasmine Kelly, Mara Zeissig, Alejandra Isabel, Joe Rossi, Matilda Handsley-Davis

2014: Dominique Jackson, Queenie Tangseefa, Jade Feong, Andrew Hayes, Trang Pham

2013: Byron Shue, Jia Truong, Andelain Erickson

2012: Duncan McKenzie, Dylan Agnew, Grace De La Lande

2011: Emma Rollo, Ashleigh Paparella, Katrina Lee, Danna Lee

2010: Emily Higginson, Sofia Xuan, George Dimitroff, James Paltridge

2009: Courtney Potter

2008: Joey Puccini

2007: Veronica Bhakti, Jessica Murray

2006: Scott Berry

Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

Date	Role	Research Topic	Program	Degree Type	Student Load	Student Name
2023	Principal Supervisor	Study of bacteriophage protein structures for the production of improved antimicrobial agents	Master of Philosophy	Master	Full Time	Ms Sarah Jayne Eisemann
2023	Co-Supervisor	Characterisation of the biochemical and functional phenotype of the brain and primary neuronal cultures to further understand the neuropathology in a childhood inherited neurodegenerative disorder.	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Part Time	Miss Kleopatra Pericleous
2022	Principal Supervisor	Engineering small molecule binding proteins as novel biosensors	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Mr Alix Charles Harlington
2021	Principal Supervisor	Engineering biosensors for wine spoilage	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Mr Ranjith Manjula Meemanage Cebreco

Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

Date	Role	Research Topic	Program	Degree Type	Student Load	Student Name
2019 - 2023	Co-Supervisor	Protein and Reaction Engineering of P450 Enzymes for Selective Oxidations	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Dr Joel Hoong Zhang Lee
2018 - 2021	Co-Supervisor	Structural and Biochemical Insights into Antifungal Drug Targets from Aspergillus fumigatus	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Ms Stephanie Nguyen
2018 - 2023	Co-Supervisor	Functional and Structural Characterisation of Bacterial ATP-grasp Ligases	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Mr Jordan Luke Pederick
2018 - 2024	Principal Supervisor	Development of the PHEARLESS system and its application for directed protein mutagenesis and characterisation of putative endolysin activity	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Miss Hannah Rose Bonham
2017 - 2021	Principal Supervisor	Investigating catalytically inactive Cas proteins as transcriptional roadblocks	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Miss Alana Jane Donnelly
2017 - 2020	Principal Supervisor	Bacteriophage 186 Investigating the role of transcriptional regulators CI, Apl, CII and Tum at the lytic/lysogenic switch during 186 prophage induction	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Miss Alejandra Isabel
2015 - 2021	Principal Supervisor	Structural Characterization of Lysogeny-Promoting Transcription Factor of Bacteriophage 186	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Mr Jia Quyen Truong
2011 - 2014	Principal Supervisor	Testing the DNA loop domain model in Escherichia coli	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Mr David Priest
2010 - 2014	Principal Supervisor	DNA looping mediated transcriptional regulation	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Mr Lun Cui
2008 - 2015	Principal Supervisor	The Design, Synthesis and Quantitative Analysis of a Bistable Mixed Feedback Loop Gene Network	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Mr Julian Pietsch
2006 - 2008	Co-Supervisor	Calcium and Phosphoinositides Regulations in Alpha-Actinin-4 F-Actin Binding	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Mr Huang-Hui Chen

Mentoring

Date	Topic	Location	Name
2018 - ongoing	Synthetic Biology	The University of Adelaide	Dr. Fiona Whelan
2012 - ongoing	DNA looping, Synthetic Biology	The University of Adelaide	Dr. Andrew Hao
2009 - 2016	Phage genetics, synthetic biology	The University of Adelaide	Dr. Iain Murchland
2007 - 2012	Post-doctoral fellow	The University of Adelaide	Dr. Alexandra Ahlgren-Berg
2005 - 2007	Post-doctoral Fellow	The University of Adelaide	Dr. Rachel Schubert

Committee Memberships

Date	Role	Committee	Institution	Country
2017 - ongoing	Chair	Associate Head (HDR)	The University of Adelaide	Australia
2017 - ongoing	Member	Faculty of Science Higher Degree by Research	The University of Adelaide	Australia
2017 - ongoing	Member	Postgraduate Coordinator	The University of Adelaide	Australia
2015 - ongoing	Member	School of Biological Sciences Executive	The University of Adelaide	Australia
2007 - ongoing	Convener	School Summer Scholarship Coordinator	University of Adelaide	Australia

Memberships

Date Role Membership Country
2015 - ongoing Representative Synthetic Biology Australasia Australia
1993 - ongoing Member Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Australia
Editorial Boards

Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country
2020 - ongoing Associate Editor Biophysical Reviews The University of Adelaide Australia
Review, Assessment, Editorial and Advice

Date Title Type Institution Country
2019 - ongoing Associate Editor - Biophysical Reviews Editorial The Univeristy of Adelaide Australia

Date	Role	Membership	Country
2015 - ongoing	Representative	Synthetic Biology Australasia	Australia
1993 - ongoing	Member	Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology	Australia

Date	Role	Editorial Board Name	Institution	Country
2020 - ongoing	Associate Editor	Biophysical Reviews	The University of Adelaide	Australia

Date	Title	Type	Institution	Country
2019 - ongoing	Associate Editor - Biophysical Reviews	Editorial	The Univeristy of Adelaide	Australia

Position: Associate Professor/Reader
Phone: 83135361
Email: keith.shearwin@adelaide.edu.au
Fax: 83134362
Campus: North Terrace
Building: Molecular Life Sciences, floor 2
Org Unit: Molecular and Biomedical Science

Associate Professor Keith Shearwin

Overview

Projects available

Appointments

Education

Postgraduate Training

Research Interests