![Dr Sylvia Duncan Dr Sylvia Duncan](/img/200x200/staffpages/uploads/rwt096/S_Duncan_photo.jpg)
BSc PhD
Senior Research Fellow
- About
-
- 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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Page 12 of 14 Results 111 to 120 of 134
Molecular approaches to the analysis of gastrointestinal microbial ecosystems
Avian Gut Function in Health and Disease. Perry, G. (ed.). CABI Publishing, pp. 107-123Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersProposal of Roseburia faecis sp nov., Roseburia hominis sp nov and Roseburia inulinivorans sp nov., based on isolates from human faeces
International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, vol. 56, no. 10, pp. 2437-2441Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1099/ijs.0.64098-0
Molecular diversity, cultivation, and improved detection by fluorescent in situ hybridization of a dominant group of human gut bacteria related to Roseburia spp. or Eubacterium rectale
Applied and Environmental Microbiology, vol. 72, no. 9, pp. 6371-6376Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.00701-06
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/14038/1/Roseburia.pdf
Two routes of metabolic cross-feeding between Bifidobacterium adolescentis and butyrate-producing anaerobes from the human gut
Applied and Environmental Microbiology, vol. 72, no. 5, pp. 3593-3599Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.72.5.3593-3599.2006
Evidence for the development of specialised bacterial communities on resistant starch in the human colon that promote butyrate formation
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, vol. 65, no. Supplement, pp. 119A-119AContributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S002966510600526X
Impact of high-protein, low- and moderate-carbohydrate diets on the microbal community and on metabolite concentration in faeces: possible implications for gut health
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, vol. 65, no. Supplement, pp. 100A-100AContributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S002966510600526X
Microbial transformation of cinnamic acids in strawberries
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, vol. 65, no. Supplement OCA-B, pp. 107AContributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S002966510600526X
Microbial transformation of cinnamic acids in strawberries: potential inflammatory implications
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, vol. 65, no. Supplement OCA-B, pp. 107AContributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S002966510600526X
pH and peptide supply can radically alter bacterial populations and short-chain fatty acid ratios within microbial communities from the human colon
Applied and Environmental Microbiology, vol. 71, no. 7, pp. 3692-3700Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.71.7.3692-3700.2005
Response of human colonic microbiota and butyrate formation in continuous culture to a one-unit pH shift
Scientific Meeting of the Nutrition Society (2005), pp. 70A-70AContributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1079/PNS2004XXX