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DrugDISCOvery at UNCW - MARBIONC

Located in Wilmington, North Carolina, MARBIONC is a state of the art biotechnology center equipped with research laboratories and analytical instrumentation.

At MARBIONC the Drug DISCOvery team focuses on utilizing advanced analytical technologies to discover new chemical structures that could lead to advances in the medical field.

Learn More About UNCW Chemistry & Biochemistry

Check out our Department's Introductory Video with DISCO's Holt Gordon and Brittany Denchfield!

DISCOvery Team News - Fresh Off the Press!

Pharmaceutical Chemistry Ph.D.

FIrst cohort began in Fall of 2023. Congratulations to our trail blazers - Caitlyn, Sarah, and Jared! See news story below about Jared's graduation and career start at Merck & Co. Inc. in San Francisco!

Academic and Industry Engagement

Congratulations to DISCOvery team members for participating in visits to Alcami in the Spring of 2022 - 2025

DISCO in the News

Jared Wood becomes first Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from UNC Wilmington

More news from Jared

Dr. Strangman is awarded NIH R03 grant funding for:
"Effects of digestion on composition and bioavailability of compounds from Ashwagandha: an in vitro study" (Scroll to bottom of page in link)
BENFRA

Evelyn Makes News at her home University in Brazil
UEPG

UNC Wilmington researcher studies algae for lifesaving insights

Spectrum News

UNCW conducting algae research, Earth Week

WWAY

UNCW research team receives nearly $1 million grant for sponge research
WECT

2025 Conference Attendance

https://www.enc-conference.org/ENC-ISMAR-2025/

https://www.chirality2025.org/

https://aspmeetings.pharmacognosy.us/

ASP 2023

The UNCW DISCO group had a great showing this year with six student presenters incuding an oral presentation from Sandra Bennett!

Ready to Present Student Research!

DISCO team member prepare for 2022 Spring/Summer Poster Presentations locally and beyond.

All the best team!

Congratulations to DISCOvery Team Members for
These Recent Publications!

Davis, L. J.; Krunić, A.; Alexander, K.; Khin, M.; Wood, J. S.; Earp, C.; Rangel-Grimaldo, M.; Eustáquio, A; S.; Burdette, J. E.; Williamson, R. T.; Oberlies, N. H.; Orjala, J. J. Nat. Prod. 2025, 8, 732-746.
Menominin A and B: Cytotoxic Cyclodepsipeptides from the Freshwater Sponge-Associated Cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. UIC 10607 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.4c01445

de Andrade, E. A.; Machinski, I.; de Almeida, V. P.; Barr, S. A.; Perera, W.H.; Manfron, J.; Beltrame, F. L.; Williamson, R T.; Strangman, W. K. Phytochemical Analysis, 2025; 0,1–16.

Quality Control Strategies for Differentiation ofKalanchoe Species https://doi.org/10.1002/pca.3525

Bang, S.; Shin, Y.-H.; Park, S.-M.; Deng, L.; Williamson, R. T.; Graham, D. B.; Xavier, R. J.; Clardy, J. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 47, 2998–3002

Unusual Phospholipids from Morganella morganii Linked to Depression https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.4c15158

Menegatti, C.; Wood, J. S.; Banks, P.; Knott, K.; Briganti, J. S.; Briganti, A. J.; McNally, S. V. G.; Marek, P. E.; Brown, A. E.; Jones, T. H.; Williamson, R. T.; Mevers, E. J. Nat. Prod. 2024, 88, 110-118.

Neuromodulating Alkaloids from Millipede Defensive Secretions https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.4c01162

Pavloudi, C., Shlafstein, M.D., De La Flor, Y.T., Smith, E.M.*, Peñuela, A.C.*, Papke, E.*; Slattery, K.; Lissner, G., Oliver, L.; Coelho, C.; Oline, D.K.; Videau, P.; Strangman, W.K.; Ushijima, B.; Saw, J.H. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 2025

Janthinobacterium aestuarii sp. nov., a novel violacein-producing bacterium isolated from the Tidal Basin in Washington DC, USA. DOI:10.1099/ijsem.0.006768

Tatters, A.O.; Clevenger, C.*; Strangman, W.K..; Oehrle, S.; Kudela, R.; Aukamp, J.; Wan, Y. Harmful Algae, 2025, 144,102833,

Benthic cyanobacterial accumulations and associated cyanotoxin dynamics in a coastal urban stormwater pond network. DOI:10.1016/j.hal.2025.10283

Thomas, E.M.*; Smith, E.M.*; Papke, E.*; Shlafstein, M.D.; Oline, D.K.; Videau, P.; Saw, J.; Strangman, W.K.; Ushijima, B. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 2025, 75

Pseudoalteromonas ardens sp. nov., Pseudoalteromonas obscura sp. nov., and Pseudoalteromonas umbrosa sp. nov. isolated from the coral Montipora capitata on a reef in Kāneʻohe Bay, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi DOI:10.1099/ijsem.0.006681

Olinger, L.K.*; Strangman, W.K.; McMurray, S.E.; Mead, R.; Pawlik, J.R. Organic Geochemistry. 2025, 200, 104922

The giant barrel sponge Xestospongia muta takes up dissolved organic matter from benthic cyanobacterial mats. DOI: 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2024.104922

Liu, X.; Williamson, R. T.; Wang, S.; Hamann, M. T.; Wang, X. et al. Chem. Rev. 2024, 124, 13099–13177.
The Chemistry of Phytoplankton https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.4c00177

Bian, Z.; Liu, X.; Hu, S.; Li, H.; Wood, J. S.; Williamson, R. T.; Liu, J.; Chen, Y.; Shi, J.; Cummins, C. L.; Ferreira, D.; Choo, Y. M.; Wang, S.; Hamann, M. T.; Wang, X. J. Nat. Prod. 2024, 87, 2459−2467.

Computationally Assisted Discovery and Assignment of a New Class of 6/6/5/5 Fused-Ring Diterpene Acting as Pregnane X Receptor Ligands from Isodon serra https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.4c00759

Wood, J. S.; Tang, J.; Strangman, W. K.; Williamson R. T. J. Nat. Prod. 2024, 87, 2120−2125.

Advanced Structure Analysis Reveals a Transient Portimine B Hydrate https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.4c00525

Rangel-Grimaldo, M.; Earp, C. E.; Raja, H. A.; Wood, J. S. Mardiana, L.; Ho, K. L.; Longcake, A.; Williamson, R. T.; Palatinus, L.; Hall, M. J.; Probert, M. R.; Oberlies, N. H. J. Nat. Prod. 2024, 87, 2095−2100.

Wheldone Revisited: Structure Revision Via DFT-GIAO Chemical Shift Calculations, 1,1-HD-ADEQUATE NMR Spectroscopy, and X-ray Crystallography Studies https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.4c00649

Petruncio, G.; Shellnutt, Z.; Young, L. L.; Girgis, M.; Strangman, W. K.; Williamson, R. T.; Kehn-Hall, K.; Paige, M. ACS Omega, 2024, 9, 30993–30997.
Total Synthesis of Homoseongomycin Enantiomers and Evaluation of Their Optical Rotation https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.4c04249

Zhao, G.; Richaud, A. D.; Williamson, R. T.; Feig, M.; Roche. S. P. ACS Chem. Biol. 2024, 19, 1583–1592.
De Novo Synthesis and Structural Elucidation of CDR-H3 Loop Mimics https://doi.org/10.1021/acschembio.4c00236

Avalon, N. E.; Reis, M. A.; Thornburg, C. C.; Williamson, R. T.; Petras, D.; Aron, A. T.; Neuhaus, G. F.; Al-Hindy, M.; Mitrevska, J.; Ferreira, L.; Morais, J.; El Abiead, Y.; Glukhov, E.; Alexander, K. L; Vulpanovici, F. A.; Bertin, M. J.; Whitner, S.; Choi, H.; Spengler, G.; Blinov, K.; Almohammadi, A. M.; Shaala, L. A.; Kew, W. R.; Paša-Tolić, L.; Youssef, D. T. A.; Dorrestein, P. C.; Vasconcelos, V.; Gerwick, L.; McPhail, K. L.; Gerwick, W. H. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 18626–18638.
Leptochelins A–C, Cytotoxic Metallophores Produced by Geographically Dispersed Leptothoe Strains of Marine Cyanobacteria https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.4c05399

Crull, E. B.; Buevich, A. V; Martin, G; E.; Mahar, R.; Qu, B.; Senanayake, C. H.; Molinski, T. F.; Williamson, R. T. Magn. Reson. Chem. 2024, 1–10. DFT investigation of coupling constant anomalies in substituted β‐lactams https://doi.org/10.1002/mrc.5444

Vyas, H; Gangani, A. J.; Mini, A.; Lin, S.; Chu, J-M; Agee, C. O.; Gabriel, J; Williamson, R. T.; Zhang, Y.; Sharma, A. Chem. Eur. J. 2024, 30, e202303175

Generation and Application of Homoallylic α,α-Diboryl Radicals via Diboron-Promoted Ring-Opening of Vinyl Cyclopropanes: cis-Diastereoselective Borylative Cycloaddition. https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202303175