Melinda Duer

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Melinda Duer

FRSC
Melinda Duer, 2021.jpg
Melinda Duer at Cambridge, 2021
Born
Melinda J. Duer

(1963-10-01) 1 October 1963 (age 60)
NationalityBritish
Education University of Cambridge (BA, MA, PhD)
Awards Interdisciplinary Prize (2017)
Suffrage Science award (2019)
Scientific career
Fields Biological chemistry and biomedical Chemistry
Institutions University of Cambridge
Robinson College, Cambridge
Thesis The parametric probes of ligand field theory  (1988)
Doctoral advisor Malcolm Gerloch
Website Duer Lab
Robinson College webpage

Melinda Jane Duer FRSC is Professor of Biological and Biomedical Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, and was the first woman to be appointed to an academic position in the department. Her research investigates changes in molecular structure of the extracellular matrix in tissues in disease and during ageing. She serves as Deputy Warden of Robinson College, Cambridge. [1] She is an editorial board member of the Journal of Magnetic Resonance. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Duer attended Sir James Smith's School, a comprehensive school in North Cornwall. [3] [4] [5] She enjoyed science at high school and was encouraged by her chemistry teacher to study natural sciences at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where she specialized in chemistry. [4] She was the first member of her family to attend higher education. [5] [6] Duer went on to complete her PhD in 1988 in theoretical chemistry with Malcolm Gerloch, where she investigated ligand field theory. [7]

Research and career

During the course of her PhD research, Duer developed an interest in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) while chatting with Lynn Gladden who frequently worked on the spectrometer in the room opposite Duer's office at the time. Towards the end of her PhD, Duer proposed using solid-state NMR to investigate organometallic catalytic species in response to an advertised temporary lectureship in the department. [8] Thus, she became the first woman to be appointed to a lectureship in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge in 1988. [4] In 1990, she was awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship. [8] [9]

Duer begun her research in solid-state NMR by investigating molecular mobility in porous materials in collaboration with Gladden who has moved to the Department of Chemical Engineering. [10] [11] [12] She went on to investigate molecular mobility more broadly, in polymers and other solids. [8] [13] With a theoretical chemistry background and through discussions with Malcolm Levitt and others, Duer also developed solid-state NMR experiments to probe anisotropic interactions, such as quadrupolar interactions [14] [15] [16] [17] and chemical shift anisotropy. [18] [19] [20] In 2001 and 2004, she published two books on solid-state NMR, targeted at graduate students. [21] [22]

In early 2000s, Duer pioneered the use of solid-state NMR to investigate biological tissues, including keratin [23] and bones, [24] frequently obtained from horses due to her interest in horse riding. [3] Her previous research on liquid crystal phases of polymers led her to wonder whether similar phases could form in keratin. [4]

Duer has extensively investigated the extracellular matrix, the component of biological tissues that simultaneously serves as the communication system between cells and provides a scaffold to support them. She is particularly interested in the molecular mechanisms that underpin the functions of the extracellular matrix. By understanding the structure-property relationships of biological tissue, Duer works to unravel the processes that give rise to collagenous tissue and mineralisation. [25]

Duer has investigated the calcification of blood vessels that occurs when people age. [4] She proposed that the hardening of arteries caused by the build-up of calcium may be triggered by polymeric adenosine diphosphate ribose (PAR), a molecule that is produced when the DNA inside cells is damaged. [26] One of her graduate students launched a spin-out company, Cycle Pharmaceuticals, which provides personalised treatment to patients with vascular diseases. [4] She was promoted to Professor in 2015. [4]

Duer was awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry Interdisciplinary Prize in 2017, [27] and the Suffrage Science award in 2019. [28] [29]

Commercial ventures

Apart from licensing novel treatment for treating vascular disease to Cycle Pharmaceuticals, [30] [31] Duer is a co-founder of Cambridge Oncology Ltd. [32]

Mentoring and international development

Duer is part of the Strategic Advisory Group of the Cambridge-Africa Programme, an initiative by the University of Cambridge to strengthen research capacity with African universities and research institutions. [33] In this role, Duer mentors African academics such as Dr Mercy Badu of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. [34]

As a previous holder of the Suffrage Science award, Duer nominated Dr Mary Anti Chama of the University of Ghana for the same award in 2021. [35] [36] [37] [38]

Selected publications

Journal articles

Books

Personal life

Duer used to be an equestrian, and has said that her interest in biological chemistry started with studying keratin in horses hooves and understanding leg fractures in one of her rescue horses. [4] [5] Her other interests include cycling and competing in triathlons.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spectroscopy</span> Study involving matter and electromagnetic radiation

Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. In simpler terms, spectroscopy is the precise study of color as generalized from visible light to all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Hyperpolarization is the nuclear spin polarization of a material in a magnetic field far beyond thermal equilibrium conditions determined by the Boltzmann distribution. It can be applied to gases such as 129Xe and 3He, and small molecules where the polarization levels can be enhanced by a factor of 104-105 above thermal equilibrium levels. Hyperpolarized noble gases are typically used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the lungs. Hyperpolarized small molecules are typically used for in vivo metabolic imaging. For example, a hyperpolarized metabolite can be injected into animals or patients and the metabolic conversion can be tracked in real-time. Other applications include determining the function of the neutron spin-structures by scattering polarized electrons from a very polarized target (3He), surface interaction studies, and neutron polarizing experiments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy</span> Laboratory technique

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, most commonly known as NMR spectroscopy or magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), is a spectroscopic technique to observe local magnetic fields around atomic nuclei. This spectroscopy is based on the measurement of absorption of electromagnetic radiations in the radio frequency region from roughly 4 to 900 MHz. Absorption of radio waves in the presence of magnetic field is accompanied by a special type of nuclear transition, and for this reason, such type of spectroscopy is known as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. The sample is placed in a magnetic field and the NMR signal is produced by excitation of the nuclei sample with radio waves into nuclear magnetic resonance, which is detected with sensitive radio receivers. The intramolecular magnetic field around an atom in a molecule changes the resonance frequency, thus giving access to details of the electronic structure of a molecule and its individual functional groups. As the fields are unique or highly characteristic to individual compounds, in modern organic chemistry practice, NMR spectroscopy is the definitive method to identify monomolecular organic compounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magic angle spinning</span>

In solid-state NMR spectroscopy, magic-angle spinning (MAS) is a technique routinely used to produce better resolution NMR spectra. MAS NMR consists in spinning the sample at the magic angle θm with respect to the direction of the magnetic field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance</span>

Solid-state NMR (ssNMR) spectroscopy is a technique for characterizing atomic level structure in solid materials e.g. powders, single crystals and amorphous samples and tissues using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The anisotropic part of many spin interactions are present in solid-state NMR, unlike in solution-state NMR where rapid tumbling motion averages out many of the spin interactions. As a result, solid-state NMR spectra are characterised by larger linewidths than in solution state NMR, which can be utilized to give quantitative information on the molecular structure, conformation and dynamics of the material. Solid-state NMR is often combined with magic angle spinning to remove anisotropic interactions and improve the resolution as well as the sensitivity of the technique.

The magic angle is a precisely defined angle, the value of which is approximately 54.7356°. The magic angle is a root of a second-order Legendre polynomial, P2(cos θ) = 0, and so any interaction which depends on this second-order Legendre polynomial vanishes at the magic angle. This property makes the magic angle of particular importance in magic angle spinning solid-state NMR spectroscopy. In magnetic resonance imaging, structures with ordered collagen, such as tendons and ligaments, oriented at the magic angle may appear hyperintense in some sequences; this is called the magic angle artifact or effect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pake doublet</span>

A Pake Doublet is a characteristic line shape seen in solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. It was first described by George Pake.

In nuclear chemistry and nuclear physics, J-couplings are mediated through chemical bonds connecting two spins. It is an indirect interaction between two nuclear spins that arises from hyperfine interactions between the nuclei and local electrons. In NMR spectroscopy, J-coupling contains information about relative bond distances and angles. Most importantly, J-coupling provides information on the connectivity of chemical bonds. It is responsible for the often complex splitting of resonance lines in the NMR spectra of fairly simple molecules.

Herbert Sander Gutowsky was an American chemist who was a professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Gutowsky was the first to apply nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods to the field of chemistry. He used nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to determine the structure of molecules. His pioneering work developed experimental control of NMR as a scientific instrument, connected experimental observations with theoretical models, and made NMR one of the most effective analytical tools for analysis of molecular structure and dynamics in liquids, solids, and gases, used in chemical and medical research, His work was relevant to the solving of problems in chemistry, biochemistry, and materials science, and has influenced many of the subfields of more recent NMR spectroscopy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear magnetic resonance</span> Spectroscopic technique based on change of nuclear spin state

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a physical phenomenon in which nuclei in a strong constant magnetic field are perturbed by a weak oscillating magnetic field and respond by producing an electromagnetic signal with a frequency characteristic of the magnetic field at the nucleus. This process occurs near resonance, when the oscillation frequency matches the intrinsic frequency of the nuclei, which depends on the strength of the static magnetic field, the chemical environment, and the magnetic properties of the isotope involved; in practical applications with static magnetic fields up to ca. 20 tesla, the frequency is similar to VHF and UHF television broadcasts (60–1000 MHz). NMR results from specific magnetic properties of certain atomic nuclei. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is widely used to determine the structure of organic molecules in solution and study molecular physics and crystals as well as non-crystalline materials. NMR is also routinely used in advanced medical imaging techniques, such as in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Deuterium NMR is NMR spectroscopy of deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen. Deuterium is an isotope with spin = 1, unlike hydrogen-1, which has spin = 1/2. The term deuteron NMR, in direct analogy to proton NMR, is also used. Deuterium NMR has a range of chemical shift similar to proton NMR but with poor resolution, due to the smaller magnitude of the magnetic dipole moment of the deuteron relative to the proton. It may be used to verify the effectiveness of deuteration: a deuterated compound will show a strong peak in deuterium NMR but not proton NMR.

Nuclear magnetic resonance crystallography is a method which utilizes primarily NMR spectroscopy to determine the structure of solid materials on the atomic scale. Thus, solid-state NMR spectroscopy would be used primarily, possibly supplemented by quantum chemistry calculations, powder diffraction etc. If suitable crystals can be grown, any crystallographic method would generally be preferred to determine the crystal structure comprising in case of organic compounds the molecular structures and molecular packing. The main interest in NMR crystallography is in microcrystalline materials which are amenable to this method but not to X-ray, neutron and electron diffraction. This is largely because interactions of comparably short range are measured in NMR crystallography.

Nitrogen-15 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a version of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy that examines samples containing the 15N nucleus. 15N NMR differs in several ways from the more common 13C and 1H NMR. To circumvent the difficulties associated with measurement of the quadrupolar, spin-1 14N nuclide, 15N NMR is employed in samples for detection since it has a ground-state spin of ½. Since14N is 99.64% abundant, incorporation of 15N into samples often requires novel synthetic techniques.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucio Frydman</span> Israeli researcher

Lucio Frydman is an Israeli chemist whose research focuses on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and solid-state NMR. He was awarded the 2000 Günther Laukien Prize, the 2013 Russell Varian Prize and the 2021 Ernst Prize. He is Professor and Head of the Department of Chemical and Biological Physics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and Chief Scientist in Chemistry and Biology at the US National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Tallahassee, Florida. He is a fellow of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance and of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. He was the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Magnetic Resonance (2011-2021).

Jean Baum is an American chemist. She is the distinguished professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Rutgers University, where she is also vice dean for research and graduate education in the school of arts and sciences, and also vice chair of the department of chemistry and chemical biology. Her research investigates protein–protein interaction and protein aggregation using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and other biochemical and biophysical techniques. She serves as treasurer for the Protein Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred G. Redfield</span> American molecular biologist, physicist

Alfred G. Redfield was an American physicist and biochemist. In 1955 he published the Redfield relaxation theory, effectively moving the practice of NMR or Nuclear magnetic resonance from the realm of classical physics to the realm of semiclassical physics. He continued to find novel magnetic resonance applications to solve real-world problems throughout his life.

Myrna Simpson is a Canadian research chemist who is the Canada Research Chair in Integrative Molecular Biogeochemistry at the University of Toronto. She is also Director of the Environmental Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Centre. Her research consider the molecular level mechanisms that underpin environmental processes, and the development of advanced analytical tools to better understand environmental health.

Anne Lesage is a French engineer who is a group leader at the French National Centre for Scientific Research. She is based at the High Field NMR Centre of the Lyon Institute of Analytical Sciences, where she develops novel nuclear magnetic resonance approaches to characterise solid-state materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucia Banci</span> Italian chemist

Lucia Banci is an Italian chemist who is a professor at the University of Florence. Her research considers structural biology and biological nuclear magnetic resonance, with a focus on the role of metal ions in biological systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Oldfield (academic)</span> British chemist

Eric Oldfield is a British chemist, the Harriet A. Harlin Professor of Chemistry and a Professor of Biophysics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is known for his work in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of lipids, proteins, and membranes; of inorganic solids; in computational chemistry, and in microbiology and parasitology. He is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and a Fellow of the American Physical Society.

References

  1. ↑ College webpage
  2. ↑ "Melinda Duer, PhD". www.journals.elsevier.com. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Bone matters - researching the structure of bones". Alumni. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Duer, Melinda (Spring 2018). "Q&A: Melinda Duer". Chem@Cam (Interview). No. 57. Interviewed by Diane Harris. Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge. pp. 22–23. Retrieved 7 October 2023– via www.ch.cam.ac.uk.
  5. 1 2 3 "Professor Melinda Duer - Understanding the molecular structure of biological tissues". YouTube . 1 June 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  6. ↑ "Melinda Duer | Duer Research Group". www.ch.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  7. ↑ Duer, Melinda J (1988). The parametric probes of ligand field theory (Thesis). OCLC   53521744.
  8. 1 2 3 Duer, Melinda J. (15 December 2011), "Duer, M. J.: The Power of Serendipity", in Harris, Robin K. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Magnetic Resonance, Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp. emrhp1086, doi:10.1002/9780470034590.emrhp1086, ISBN   978-0-470-03459-0 , retrieved 22 April 2021
  9. ↑ "Women in Chemistry, Melinda Duer | Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry". www.ch.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  10. ↑ Portsmouth, R.L.; Duer, M.J.; Gladden, L.F. (1 January 1993). "Transport in Zeolites: Application of NMR to Probe Sorption Phenomena". Proceedings from the Ninth International Zeolite Conference. pp. 37–44. doi:10.1016/B978-1-4832-8383-8.50089-1. ISBN   9781483283838.
  11. ↑ Portsmouth, R. L.; Duer, M. J.; Gladden, L. F. (1 January 1995). "2 H NMR studies of single-component adsorption in silicalite: a comparative study of benzene and p-xylene". Journal of the Chemical Society, Faraday Transactions. 91 (3): 559–567. doi:10.1039/FT9959100559. ISSN   1364-5455.
  12. ↑ Duer, M.J.; Elliott, S.R.; Gladden, L.F. (2 August 1995). "An investigation of the structural units in sodium disilicate glass: a 2-D 29Si NMR study". Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids. 189 (1–2): 107–117. doi:10.1016/0022-3093(95)00199-9. ISSN   0022-3093.
  13. ↑ Duer, Melinda J. (1 January 2001). Solid-state NMR studies of molecular motion. Annual Reports on NMR Spectroscopy. Vol. 43. pp. 1–58. doi:10.1016/S0066-4103(01)43008-0. ISBN   9780125053433. ISSN   0066-4103.
  14. ↑ Duer, Melinda J.; Stourton, Clare (1 January 1997). "Further Developments in MQMAS NMR Spectroscopy for Spin-32Nuclei". Journal of Magnetic Resonance. 124 (1): 189–199. doi:10.1006/jmre.1996.1012. ISSN   1090-7807.
  15. ↑ Duer, M.J.; Painter, A.J. (19 November 1999). "Correlating quadrupolar nuclear spins: a multiple-quantum NMR approach". Chemical Physics Letters. 313 (5–6): 763–770. doi:10.1016/S0009-2614(99)01043-X. ISSN   0009-2614.
  16. ↑ Painter, A. James; Duer, Melinda J. (27 December 2001). "Double-quantum-filtered nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy applied to quadrupolar nuclei in solids". The Journal of Chemical Physics. 116 (2): 710–722. doi:10.1063/1.1425831. ISSN   0021-9606.
  17. ↑ Ashbrook, Sharon E.; Duer, Melinda J. (2006). "Structural information from quadrupolar nuclei in solid state NMR". Concepts in Magnetic Resonance Part A. 28A (3): 183–248. doi:10.1002/cmr.a.20053. ISSN   1552-5023.
  18. ↑ Orr, Robin M.; Duer, Melinda J.; Ashbrook, Sharon E. (1 June 2005). "Correlating fast and slow chemical shift spinning sideband patterns in solid-state NMR". Journal of Magnetic Resonance. 174 (2): 301–309. doi:10.1016/j.jmr.2005.03.001. ISSN   1090-7807. PMID   15862248.
  19. ↑ Orr, Robin M.; Duer, Melinda J. (1 July 2006). "Recoupling of chemical-shift anisotropy powder patterns in MAS NMR". Journal of Magnetic Resonance. 181 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1016/j.jmr.2006.03.010. ISSN   1090-7807. PMID   16574445.
  20. ↑ Orr, Robin M.; Duer, Melinda J. (1 July 2006). "Applications of the CSA-amplified PASS experiment". Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. 30 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1016/j.ssnmr.2005.12.001. ISSN   0926-2040. PMID   16406513.
  21. ↑ Duer, Melinda J (2002). Duer, Melinda J (ed.). Solid-state NMR spectroscopy: principles and applications. Malden, MA: Blackwell Science. doi:10.1002/9780470999394. ISBN   978-0-470-99939-4. OCLC   184983770.
  22. ↑ Duer, Melinda J (2004). Introduction to solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Oxford, UK; Malden, MA: Blackwell. ISBN   978-1-4051-0914-7. OCLC   53178681.
  23. ↑ Duer, Melinda J.; McDougal, Nicky; Murray, Rachel C. (19 June 2003). "A solid-state NMR study of the structure and molecular mobility of α-keratin". Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. 5 (13): 2894–2899. doi:10.1039/B302506C. ISSN   1463-9084.
  24. ↑ "Heavy mice and light things: using solid-state NMR spectroscopy to understand biological tissues in health and disease | Biological Sciences | University of Southampton". www.southampton.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  25. ↑ "Professor Melinda Duer | Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry". www.ch.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  26. ↑ "Mystery of why arteries harden may have been solved, say scientists". The Guardian. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  27. ↑ "Prizes and awards 2017". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  28. ↑ "Suffrage Science Awards 2019: 12 role models in engineering & physical sciences awarded heirlooms". LMS London Institute of Medical Sciences. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  29. ↑ nt386 (8 July 2019). "A Suffrage Science Award for Professor Melinda Duer". Robinson College. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  30. ↑ "CYCLE Pharmaceuticals, The University of Cambridge and King's College London Partner to Repurpose PARP Inhibitor Drugs for Vascular Disease". Cycle Pharmaceuticals. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  31. ↑ "Cambridge Enterprise licenses PARP inhibitor drug IP to Cycle Pharmaceuticals". Cambridge Enterprise. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  32. ↑ "CAMBRIDGE ONCOLOGY LTD - Officers (free information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  33. ↑ "Cambridge-Africa Governance :: Cambridge-Africa". www.cambridge-africa.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  34. ↑ "Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF) on LinkedIn: LMS launches scheme to mentor African female scientists". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  35. ↑ "Leading women in 'Engineering and Physical Sciences' win Suffrage Science award on the scheme's tenth anniversary". LMS London Institute of Medical Sciences. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  36. ↑ "Dr. Mary Anti Chama Receives Suffrage Science Award". 12 March 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  37. ↑ "Suffrage Science Awards 2021: A Celebration of Women Changing Science". LMS London Institute of Medical Sciences. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  38. ↑ "Twitter status Mar 8, 2021. MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences". Twitter. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
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