Marcel Jaspars

Professor Marcel Jaspars is Chair in Chemistry at the University of Aberdeen, affiliated with the School of Natural and Computing Sciences and the Department of Chemistry. He is a leading expert in marine biodiscovery, natural product chemistry, and science policy. He previously served as Head of the Department of Chemistry (2016–2019) and led the €9.5M EU FP7 PharmaSea project.

• BA Hons (Cantab), Natural Sciences (Chemistry), University of Cambridge, 1987
• PhD, Organic Chemistry, Trinity College, Dublin, 1992
• ScD (Cantab), Organic Chemistry, University of Cambridge, 2018

His research focuses on discovering bioactive compounds from marine and desert environments, with applications in drug discovery for Alzheimer’s and epilepsy. He pioneers structure determination using NMR and atomic force microscopy and studies the biosynthesis of cyclic peptides like patellamides. His work integrates chemistry, biotechnology, and sustainability.

His recent publications span marine natural products, computational drug discovery, and policy on marine genetic resources. Key themes include antimicrobial agents, neuroprotective flavonoids, deep-sea metabolites, and digital sequence information (DSI) governance.

• Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Research Development Fellow (2006–2009)
• American Society of Pharmacognosy Matt Suffness Award (2003)
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE)
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC)
• Chartered Chemist (CChem)
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

He has secured major grants from EU Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, including the MARBLES, BlueRemediomics, and HOTBIO projects. He advises PhD students and teaches courses such as Small Molecule Drug Discovery and Organic & Biological Chemistry. He leads the Marine Biodiscovery research group and contributes to policy through the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative and UN processes on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ).