Prof Luis Mur

PhD

Prof Luis Mur

Professor

Department of Life Sciences

Contact Details

In my Food Security Research I am interested in developing our understanding of the genetic & biochemical events associated with plant responses to stress & in identifying sources of tolerance/resistance. This work is based on the use of model plant species, Arabidopsis & Brachypodium distachyon & also crops, wheat (Triticum aestivum), oats (Avena sativa) tomato (Solanum esculentum) & barley (Hordeum vulgare).

My interests in clinical health focus on the respiratory tract & identifying drug leads from natural products. Lung cancer (LC) is the most prevalent cancer in the world with 1.3 million deaths recorded each year. Only 15% of patients live for five or more years after initial diagnosis, primarily due to late detection. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterised by an increase in mucus production due to hyperplasia of goblet cells, & hypertrophy of mucus glands COPD is a leading cause of death, arising from acute exacerbations (sudden worsening of symptoms) which may be triggered by infection or environmental pollutants. My research in this area is focusing on the detection of metabolite biomarkers for LC & COPD & investigating possible links with the lung microbiome.

My research in bioactive natural products focus on identifying anti-microbial metabolites against such human pathogens as MSRA & Pseudomonas aeruginosa from invasive plant species & extremophile microbial strains.

I employ cutting edge genomic & post-genomic approaches but will use classical physiological, genetic, biochemical or microbiological approaches- as appropriate. I have numerous national & international collaborations which are supported by funding from the BBSRC, the EU, NSF (USA), DEFRA, Royal Society, Welsh Assembly, & AU Research Fund.

  • One Health

Extracellular vesicle–derived urinary metabolomes show distinctive changes with breast cancer. / Bambarandhage, Anuradha U K H; Zainurin, Nur Aimi Aliah; Laziri, Noura et al.
MedRxiv, 2026.

Research output: Working paperPreprint

A long terminal repeat retrotransposon in the OsACS6 promoter enhances the epigenetic regulation of lysophospholipid contents in rice grains. / Li, Kang; Cheng, Yan; Yu, Jingyao et al.
In: Plant Communications, 12.05.2025.

Research output: Contribution to journalLetter

A practical UAV-assisted workflow for high-throughput screening of drought-resistant rice. / Wang, Xin; Cheng, Huilin; Fang, Jingyi et al.
In: Agricultural Water Management, Vol. 322, 109934, 20.12.2025.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Calcium-Sensing Receptor as a Novel Target for the Treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. / Wolffs, Kasope; Li, Renjiao; Mansfield, Bethan et al.
In: Biomolecules, Vol. 15, No. 4, 509, 01.04.2025.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Effect of potent inhibitors of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and PVP on in vitro morphogenesis of Fagopyrum tataricum. / Pérez-Pérez, Reneé; Pinski, Artur; Zaranek, Magdalena et al.
In: BMC Plant Biology, Vol. 25, No. 1, 469, 15.04.2025.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

More publications on the Research Portal