Fischell Institute Spotlight: Gregg Duncan

Gregg Duncan is a Fischell Institute Affiliate Fellow and Associate Professor of the Fischell Department of Bioengineering (BIOE). He first got involved with the Institute during a joint project with Fischell Institute Fellow Don Milton detecting viruses in aerosols.

Duncan has also collaborated with Fischell Institute Senior Engineer Kevin Aroom, who helped him fabricate a hydrogel-embedded impactor plate to be used for viral capture.

Duncan's expertise is in pulmonary bioengineering, infectious disease, biomaterials, and drug and gene delivery. He received his bachelor's in chemical engineering from Florida State University and his Ph.D. in chemical and biomolecular engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

Duncan noted that joining BIOE’s faculty was a natural fit for him based on his research interests in respiratory diseases and drug delivery. The choice to come to UMD was primarily for the state-of-the-art facilities, as well as the collegial and supportive environment.

Currently, Duncan’s research focuses on how human lungs filter out and eliminate contaminants from inhaled air, a process known as mucociliary clearance (MCC). Duncan is also interested in how viruses overcome MCC to cause infection and is currently researching how to better define how infection enters the lungs. Finally his lab is developing synthetic biomaterials that recapitulate some of the beneficial properties of naturally secreted mucus for the delivery of antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agents.

"Our lab brings a unique engineering perspective and a new set of tools to address many outstanding questions about our body's respiratory defense system,” said Duncan. "It is exciting to see how our work can address these issues more systematically."

Duncan is interested in how he and his lab could translate their findings into developing precision gene therapy approaches to address chronic lung diseases (e.g., asthma) and antiviral medicines to address respiratory infectious diseases.

Outside of work, Duncan spends his free time with his family. He is also an avid Premier League soccer watcher and an Arsenal Football Club fan.

Published June 22, 2023