More about Duncan
Starting out as a chemist, Duncan Smith got his first taste of protein science during a final-year research project and has never looked back! Throughout his PhD and post-doc years he has expressed, purified, characterised, and engineered enzymes to be used as biocatalysts in various synthetic biology projects, and now joins the team as a protein scientist. Outside of the lab, and once he’s had his morning coffee, Duncan enjoys board games, Netflix binges, and taking his dog on a walk – ideally one with a cold drink and a sunny spot to sit in waiting at the end of it!
Scope and potential of halogenases in biosynthetic applications
Current opinion in chemical biology. 2013 17 (2), 276-283
DRM Smith, S Grüschow, RJM Goss.
The First One-Pot Synthesis of l-7-Iodotryptophan from 7-Iodoindole and Serine, and an Improved Synthesis of Other l-7-Halotryptophans
Organic letters 2014 16 (10), 2622-2625
DRM Smith, T Willemse, DS Gkotsi, W Schepens, BUW Maes, S Ballet, RJM Goss.
An Unusual Flavin-Dependent Halogenase from the Metagenome of the Marine Sponge Theonella swinhoei WA
ACS chemical biology 2017 12 (5), 1281-1287
DRM Smith, AR Uria, EJN Helfrich, D Milbredt, KH van Pée, J Piel, RJM Goss.
Sonogashira diversification of unprotected halotryptophans, halotryptophan containing tripeptides; and generation of a new to nature bromo-natural product and its diversification in water
Chemical science 2017 8 (3), 2039-2046
MJ Corr, SV Sharma, C Pubill-Ulldemolins, RT Bown, P Poirot, DRM Smith, C Cartmell, A Abou Fayade, RJM Goss.
Structure and Biocatalytic Scope of Coclaurine N-Methyltransferase
Angewandte Chemie 2018 130 (33), 10760-10764
MR Bennett, ML Thompson, SA Shepherd, MS Dunstan, AJ Herbert, DRM Smith, VA Cronin, BRK Menon, C Levy, J Micklefield.
Access to high value natural and unnatural products through hyphenating chemical synthesis and biosynthesis
Synthesis 2014 46 (16), 2122-2132
KPP Mahoney, DRM Smith, EJA Bogosyan, RJM Goss.
Promiscuous indolyl vinyl isonitrile synthases in the biogenesis and diversification of hapalindole-type alkaloids
Chemical science 2015 6 (12), 6836-6840
K Ittiamornkul, Q Zhu, DS Gkotsi, DRM Smith, ML Hillwig, N Nightingale, RJM Goss, X Liu.
One-pot access to L-5, 6-dihalotryptophans and L-alknyltryptophans using tryptophan synthase
Tetrahedron 2016 72 (46), 7306-7310
MJ Corr, DRM Smith, RJM Goss
Halogenases
Science of Synthesis: Biocatalysis in Organic Synthesis 2015 3, 313 - 360
S Grüschow, DRM Smith, DS Gkosti, RJM Goss.
Nicotiana benthamiana as a transient expression host to produce auxin analogs
Frontiers in plant science 2020
K Davis, DS Gkotsi, DRM Smith, RJM Goss, L Caputi, SE O’Connor.
Generation of polyene antifungal derivatives with improved properties using uncommon tailoring enzymes
3rd International Conference on Natural Products Discovery and Development 2020
A Carella, S Irfan, WL Thong, D Smith, C Levy, J Micklefield.
Employee Spotlight
I study protein expression and purification at a range of scales, to support our clients’ crystallography or drug discovery projects.
I was a post-doc at the University of Manchester, working on an enzyme engineering to generate a specific target drug molecule without the need for organic synthesis.
Professor David Smith from the University of York (no relation). I admire how he talks about how his husband’s health influenced his research. Judging from his Twitter he’s also an excellent cook and has found time to put together a collection of his family recipes!
It’s very satisfying when you can purify a protein to give a single, clean band on a gel.
I enjoy video and board games, eating out, yoga, and taking my dog for a walk in nice weather.
When you go to put a plate in the dishwasher but it’s clean and needs emptying.
Anything with cheese.
It would have to be something that would have an impact on climate change – we can’t fix any of the other problems if we don’t have anywhere to live!
Coffee!
The Prestige. I’ll listen a song to death for a week and then forget about it forever, but I’m usually listening to podcasts.
I’ve never seen Jurassic Park.
