Rate My Professor Sigurd Wilbanks

Wilbanks specialized in elucidating protein conformational changes and enzyme mechanisms through biophysical techniques. His research group explored molecular chaperones including Hsc70 and DnaK, splicing mechanisms of protein inteins such as Cne PRP8, the peroxidase activity and apoptotic roles of cytochrome c, cysteine dioxygenases, Wilms' Tumor 1 protein, and the Psb27 subunit of Photosystem II. Notable publications include "Crystal and Solution Structures of an HslUV Protease–Chaperone Complex" (1999), "Sequence requirements for splicing by the Cne PRP8 intein" (2007), "A Chromogenic Assay of Substrate Depletion by Thiol Dioxygenases" (2014), "Enhancing the peroxidase activity of cytochrome c by mutation of highly conserved residues" (2014), "The Cysteine Dioxygenase Homologue from Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Dioxygenase" (2015), "Covalent Isothiocyanate Inhibitors of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor" (2024), and "Thermostable neutral metalloprotease from Geobacillus sp. EA1 does not share thermolysin's preference for substrates with leucine at the P1' position" (2025). Celebrated for his collaborative approach, precise scientific writing, and mentorship, Wilbanks supervised dozens of MSc and PhD theses, significantly impacting biochemical research training at Otago.