Wendy Strangman
After completing her Ph. D. at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in Marine Natural Products Chemistry and postdoctoral research at the University of British Columbia, Wendy joined UNCW as a Research Associate Professor at the Center for Marine Science in late 2010. Research in her group focuses on discovery of new biologically active natural products for therapeutic development as well as detection and characterization of new toxins produced by harmful algal blooms.
When not in the lab, Wendy enjoys rock climbing in the summer, skiing in the winter, and adventuring with her family all year long.
(910) 962-2393
Most Recent Publications
Marine microorganisms have been a resource for novel therapeutic drugs for decades. In addition to anticancer drugs, the drug acyclovir, derived from …
Seawater dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a large reservoir of carbon composed of a complex and poorly characterized mixture of molecules. Sponges have long been known to consume dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from this mixture, but the role of microbial sponge symbionts in this process is complex, and the molecules involved remain largely unknown.
Selected Recent Research Highlights
Fribley, A. M., Xi, Y., Makris, C., Alves-de-Souza, C., York, R., Tomas, C., Wright, J. L. C. and Strangman, W. K. ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters 2019 10 (2), 175-179
Harmful algal blooms can often lead to the production of unprecedented chemical structures that have the potential to be developed into useful pharmaceuticals. Portimines A and B are examples of this with complex chemistry and potent activity against a number of cancer cells types.
Anttila, M., Strangman, W., York, R., Tomas, C., and Wright, J. L. C. Journal of Natural Products 2016 79 (3), 484-489
Understanding how marine organisms manufacture molecules can present many challenges. In this report, the production of a metabolite form a dinoflagellate is explored and the biological assembly line that builds this intriguing marine natural product is defined.