![Dr Sylvia Duncan Dr Sylvia Duncan](/img/200x200/staffpages/uploads/rwt096/S_Duncan_photo.jpg)
BSc PhD
Senior Research Fellow
- About
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- Email Address
- sylvia.duncan@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 438680
- Office Address
Rowett Institute
Forresterhill Campus
Aberdeen
AB25 2ZD
- School/Department
- School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition
- Research
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Research Overview
The Microbiology group have isolated and characterised many of the most abundant bacterial species that inhabit the human large intestine. A panel of the most interesting strains have also been genome sequenced. Mining these genomes has led to a good understanding of the roles of these mostly anaerobic bacteria in the human colon including their primary metabolic function, such as the formation of short chain fatty acids.
Research team:
Amanda Morris – Research Assistant
Galiana Lo - PhD student
Dr Indrani Mukhopadhya – Research Fellow
Research Areas
Nutrition and Health
Research Specialisms
- Microbiology
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
Current Research
My current research is focussed on the impact of dietary macronutrients, including protein and carbohydrate content, on modulating the composition of the gut microbiota and metabolic outputs to improve health and prevent disease. The impact of gut environmental factors, including pH and bile salt levels, on modulating the gut microbiota and metabolism are also being studied using in vitro model colonic fermentor systems. We are also interested in bacterial cross feeding of dietary macronutrients by specialist bacterial species. We are also interested lactic acid utilising bacterial species as this is a product that is usually low in healthy colons but can accumulate to high levels in disease states such as inflammatory bowel disease. Further studies are also underway on host-microbe interactions.
More recently, the formation of secondary metabolites, such as polyketides and non-ribosomally synthesised peptides, by gut anaerobes are being studied through genome mining strains, testing their ability to inhibit pathogens and identifying the structure of these peptides as these are potentially pharmaceutically important compounds that may possess anti-microbial and anti-cancer properties.
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
Course Coordinator MC4014
Contribute lectures and tutorials to Nutrition courses
- Publications
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Persimmon Fiber-Rich Ingredients Promote Anti-Inflammatory Responses and the Growth of Beneficial Anti-Inflammatory Firmicutes Species from the Human Colon
Nutrients, vol. 16, no. 15, 2518Contributions to Journals: ArticlesWhy does increased microbial fermentation in the human colon shift toward butyrate?
AIMS Microbiology, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 311-319Contributions to Journals: ArticlesNutrients to Nourish the Organisms:Prebiotics and Fiber
Probiotics: a Clinical Guide. CRC Press, pp. 71-81, 11 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) Hulls Are a Rich Source of Fermentable Dietary Fibre and Bioactive Phytochemicals: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, vol. 24, no. 22, 16310Contributions to Journals: ArticlesBioprocessing of Hempseed (Cannabis sativa L.) Food By-Products Increased Nutrient and Phytochemical In Vitro Bioavailability during Digestion and Microbial Fermentation
Applied Sciences, vol. 13, no. 9, 5781Contributions to Journals: ArticlesLinks between diet, intestinal anaerobes, microbial metabolites and health
Biomedicines, vol. 11, no. 5, 1338Contributions to Journals: ArticlesExploiting Underutilised crops
Food Science & Technology, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 36-39Contributions to Journals: ArticlesImpact of changes at the Candida albicans cell surface upon immunogenicity and colonisation in the gastrointestinal tract
The Cell Surface, vol. 8, 100084Contributions to Journals: ArticlesHigh throughput method development and optimised production of leaf protein concentrates with potential to support the agri-industry
Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization, vol. 16, pp. 49–65Contributions to Journals: ArticlesHuman gut bifidobacteria inhibit the growth of the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans
FEMS Microbiology Ecology, vol. 98, no. 10, fiac095Contributions to Journals: Articles