Melinda Duer is Professor of Biological and Biomedical Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge. She has a broad range of research interests from the development of tissues, especially calcified tissues, to the molecular structure of the extracellular matrix and its roles in cell function and differentiation, to how and why the molecular structure of tissues changes in degenerative diseases and ageing – and integrates every possible physical characterisation technique from advanced optical imaging methods to high-resolution electron microscopy with NMR spectroscopy to generate new understanding of how tissues function at a molecular and nanoscopic level. Her work on vascular calcification has led to a potential therapy which is currently the subject of a proof-of-principle patient trial. Her work developing methods to characterise the molecular structure of extracellular matrix was recognised by the award of a Royal Society of Chemistry Interdisciplinary Prize in 2017 and her work mentoring younger scientists with a Suffrage Science Award in 2019. In 2018 she set up a company, Cambridge Oncology, to explore new approaches to cancer therapeutics. Most recently, she was awarded an ERC Advanced grant in 2021 to understand the mechanochemistry that occurs in tissues under strain. She was also the Deputy Warden at Robinson College, Cambridge from 2016 - 2021.