SCHOOL OF Chemistry

Prof. Deniz Tasdemir Professor of Natural Product Chemistry and Marine Biodiscovery Phone: +353-91-49-2450 (for internal: ext. 2450) Fax: +353-91-495576 Email: deniz.tasdemirnuigalway.ie Mailing Address School of Chemistry National University of Ireland, Galway Arts/Science Building Room 213 University Road Galway, Ireland

Degrees and Qualifications

• BSc (Hons) in Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
• MSc (Hons) in Pharmacognosy, Hacettepe University, Turkey (Mentor: Prof. Ihsan Çalis)
• PhD (Hons) in Natural Products Chemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Switzerland (Mentor: Prof. Otto Sticher)
• Post-doct in Marine Natural Products Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA (Mentor: Prof. Chris M. Ireland)
                                                                                                    

Tasdemir Research Group

Publications

Positions Available 

Research Interests

Marine Biodiscovery

Prof. Tasdemir is the incoming leader of the Beaufort Marine Biodiscovery project. The overall aim of this project is to assess Irish marine biological diversity to identify and develop novel natural products and other biomaterials for application in areas such as drug discovery, marine biotechnology and biomedical research. 

Marine Functional Foods

Prof. Tasdemir is one of the principal investigators of the Nutramara Marine Functional Food Initiative, and evaluates aquaculture waste, particularly shellfish, as source of bioactives. The Nutramara project aims to mine marine resources for functional food ingredients that may benefit human health by inclusion in the diet.

Natural Product Chemistry

This research includes novelty screening / chemical profiling / fingerprinting / metabolomics / quantitative analysis of complex natural extracts by hyphenated techniques (UHPLC-DAD-MS/MS, high field NMR), as well as extraction, (bioactivity-guided) purification and structure elucidation of their bioactive primary and secondary natural metabolites.

Determination of biological activity and of mechanism of action

This applies to complex mixtures (herbal or marine extracts) as well as to purified metabolites and involves in vitro assays for prophylaxis/prevention and treatment of human diseases, e.g. cancer, infectious diseases (tuberculosis, malaria, trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis), menopausal discomforts, neurological and sleep disorders. We are also interested in interactions of small molecules with their biological targets (commercially available or recombinant enzymes prepared in our laboratory).

Awards and Honors

• ETH-Zurich Medal as Distinction for Doctoral Study (Ausgezeichnete Doktorarbeit),1997
• Pierre Fabre Prize, Phytochemical Society of Europe (PSE), 2004
• Egon Stahl Silver Medal, Society for Medicinal Plant & Natural Product Research (GA), 2005

Functions in Scientific Societies

• Membership Secretary of the Phytochemical Society of Europe (PSE) (2008 - present)
• Member of the Advisory Board of Society for Medicinal Plant & Natural Product Research (GA) (2009 - present)
• Member of the Permanent Committee of the GA Young Researchers Workshop (2009 - present)

Membership of Journal Editorial Boards

• Member of the Editorial Board of Marine Drugs
• Member of the Editorial Board of Phytochemistry Letters
• Member of the Advisory Editorial Board of Planta Medica
• Member of the Editorial Board of Frontiers in Ethnopharmacology
   

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