Alix Harlington
Higher Degree by Research Candidate
School of Biological Sciences
Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology
My research incorporates synthetic biology, enzymology, bioinformatics, and biochemistry to discover, characterise and engineer small molecule binding proteins as novel biosensors. This work leverages the diversity of existing and uncharacterised bacterial small molecule sensors and catalytic enzymes. My central aim is to identify and engineer specific biosensors responsive to aromatic compounds of interest to the wine industry. To engineer specificity and tailor biosensor sensitivity, I am in the process of building bacterial genetic circuits to select for targeted sensing chemistry. This work is supported by Wine Australia.
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Awards and Achievements
Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount 2021 Scholarship Research Training Program Stipend (RTPS) University of Adelaide Australia - 2021 Scholarship Wine Australia Supplementary Scholarship Wine Australia Australia - 2020 Award Outstanding Academic Achievement Award University of Adelaide Australia - 2019 Scholarship Adelaide Summer Research Scholarship University of Adelaide Australia - 2019 Award Outstanding Academic Achievement Award University of Adelaide Australia - 2018 Award Outstanding Academic Achievement Award University of Adelaide Australia - -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2021 University of Adelaide Australia M.Phil 2018 - 2020 University of Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Science (Advanced) -
Research Interests
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Journals
Year Citation 2025 Harlington, A. C., Das, T., Shearwin, K. E., Bell, S. G., & Whelan, F. (2025). Structural insights into S-lignin O-demethylation via a rare class of heme peroxygenase enzymes. Nature Communications, 16(1), 1815.
2024 Wang, C. R., Harlington, A. C., Snel, M. F., & Pukala, T. L. (2024). Characterisation of the forest cobra (Naja melanoleuca) venom using a multifaceted mass spectrometric-based approach. BBA: Proteins and Proteomics, 1872(2), 140992-1-140992-10.
Scopus8 Europe PMC22024 Das, T., Hayball, E. F., Harlington, A. C., & Bell, S. G. (2024). A Thermostable Heme Protein Fold Adapted for Stereoselective C-H Bond Hydroxylation Using Peroxygenase Activity. ChemBioChem, 26(2), e202400737-1-e202400737-9.
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.
Scopus21 WoS1 Europe PMC1 -
Preprint
Year Citation 2024 Harlington, A. C., Das, T., Shearwin, K. E., Bell, S. G., & Whelan, F. (2024). The S-lignin<i>O</i>-demethylase SyoA: Structural insights into a new class of heme peroxygenase enzymes.
DOI
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Memberships
Date Role Membership Country 2021 - ongoing Member Synthetic Biology Australasia Australia
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