Welcome to the Duncan lab website.
We are based at Newcastle University in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK and are part of the Biosciences Institute, in the theme of Microbes in Health and Disease which is part of the Faculty of Medical Science.
Our lab moved here in January 2024 after 8 years at Strathclyde University (based in Glasgow, Scotland) .
We are interested in the chemical 'language' of microbes and what influences it. Primarily for the biodiscovery of novel antibiotics, from our oceans.
We are passionate about all aspects of marine natural products research.
Our broad interest is marine microbial chemical ecology. Which microbes produce chemistry? What influences these processes? Are there boundaries to this exchange? If so, what are they defined by? Ecology? Evolution (phylogeny)? Biogeography? Ultimately, understanding what underpins these fascinating and complex processes will enable an 'informed biodiscovery' approach to new chemistry. We all agree that new medicines are needed. To address this, we are creating a map of this microbial chemical language, kind of big picture of a microbial world. Discovery is what we do.
We enjoy interdisciplinary research and working with interesting people. We welcome new connections, collaborations and discussions - we'd love to hear from you and we strongly encourage people who would like to join the Duncan lab to get in touch!
Some General Interest Articles we have Featured in:
We are based at Newcastle University in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK and are part of the Biosciences Institute, in the theme of Microbes in Health and Disease which is part of the Faculty of Medical Science.
Our lab moved here in January 2024 after 8 years at Strathclyde University (based in Glasgow, Scotland) .
We are interested in the chemical 'language' of microbes and what influences it. Primarily for the biodiscovery of novel antibiotics, from our oceans.
We are passionate about all aspects of marine natural products research.
Our broad interest is marine microbial chemical ecology. Which microbes produce chemistry? What influences these processes? Are there boundaries to this exchange? If so, what are they defined by? Ecology? Evolution (phylogeny)? Biogeography? Ultimately, understanding what underpins these fascinating and complex processes will enable an 'informed biodiscovery' approach to new chemistry. We all agree that new medicines are needed. To address this, we are creating a map of this microbial chemical language, kind of big picture of a microbial world. Discovery is what we do.
We enjoy interdisciplinary research and working with interesting people. We welcome new connections, collaborations and discussions - we'd love to hear from you and we strongly encourage people who would like to join the Duncan lab to get in touch!
Some General Interest Articles we have Featured in:
- The Wall Street Journal, September 2022 'Finding new drugs from the deep sea via eDNA' https://www.wsj.com/articles/finding-new-drugs-from-the-deep-sea-via-edna-11662216510
- The Observer, September 2022 'Scientists set for ocean crisis debate 150 years after 'extraordinary' expedition https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/27/scientists-set-for-ocean-crisis-debate-150-years-after-extraordinary-expedition
- Scientific American, August 2022 'Hope for New Drugs Arrises from the Sea' https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hope-for-new-drugs-arises-from-the-sea/
