Green Chemistry Biocatalysis National Symposium

Researchers from the TU Dublin School of Food Science and Environmental Health and the Green Chemistry and Biotechnology Research Centre hosted the inaugural Green Chemistry Biocatalysis symposium on Wednesday 6th May 2026. This National symposium brought together researchers and industry professionals to share knowledge, inspire innovation, and strengthen collaborations under the themes of: 

 

Participants attended from across the country from Universities (including SETU, DCU, UCD, UCC) and industry (including Almac Group; Neogen Megazyme, MyGug and BioEnz Technologies). The agenda included an opening address from Dr Julie Dunne (Head of School of Food Science and Environmental Health). 

 

Oral presentations included Prof Gary Henehan (TU Dublin) who gave an overview of ‘Green Chemistry Biocatalysis in TU Dublin’. Dr Paul Young (UCC) presented on ‘Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a platform for whole-cell biocatalysis’. Dr Stefan Mix (Almac) shared ideas about ‘Greener API manufacture with engineered enzymes’. Dr David Mangan of Megazyme/Neogen presented on ‘Enzymes for Biotransformation and Analytical Applications’. Dr Marianne Haarr (UCD) presented on ‘Biocatalytic cascades for the assembly of complex chiral compounds’. Dr Luke Johnson (UCD) provided an overview of ‘Engineering terpenoid natural product biocatalysis for management of insect pests’. 

 

In addition, there was a showcase of research posters and networking opportunities with the symposium successfully bridging academia and industry. A key topic explored was how to transition away from traditional, non-sustainable, chemistry and instead focus on enzyme stability, flow biocatalysis, and waste reduction in pharmaceutical and materials production.