Rate My Professor Sigurd Wilbanks

Sigurd Wilbanks is an Honorary Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Otago, within the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences and Health Sciences Division. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude in Classics (Latin) from Harvard University and a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, with a dissertation entitled "Adaptive Variation in Phycoerythrins." Following his PhD, he served as a Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford University School of Medicine under Professor David B. McKay. In 1998, Wilbanks joined the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Otago, where he advanced from Senior Lecturer, holding that position from 2002 to 2017, to Associate Professor. Throughout his over 25-year tenure, he fulfilled multifaceted roles as a researcher, lecturer, supervisor of postgraduate students, mentor, and administrator, becoming a central figure in the department since the late 1990s. In late 2023, he transitioned to part-time employment prior to full retirement, retaining his honorary associate professorship.

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.