Before joining the Innovation Factory, Duncan was the Chief Technical Officer for Microbiosensor, a UoM spinout aiming to commercialise In vitro diagnostic tests using tetrazolium chemistries to detect infections.

Prior to this Duncan was Research Manager and then CEO of another spinout, Ai2, which was focussed on commercialising a family of antimicrobial peptides, with its main area of interest being prevention of contact lens-related infections.

Before joining these start-up companies he worked in R&D at a large pharmaceutical company – AstraZeneca - for 20 years, leading teams identifying new targets, and managing drug discovery projects in respiratory, inflammation, infection and diabetes, as well as with novel types of therapeutics such as antibodies, siRNAs, antisense and aptamers.

Duncan’s PhD was on the molecular genetics of the antibiotic-producing bacteria Streptomyces.