Emma Duncan

Since her undergraduate days studying medicine at the University of Sydney, Prof Emma Duncan has been fascinated by endocrinology in general and the skeleton specifically, which has led to adventures around the globe. A long stint in the UK in her early career encompassed a PhD in osteoporosis genetics and clinical training in endocrinology. She returned to Australia in 2005 where she worked at the University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, Princess Alexandra Hospital and the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. She moved back to the UK mid-pandemic to take up a new appointment as Professor of Clinical Endocrinology, King’s College London.

Prof Duncan has published multiple high-impact papers into the genetics of many endocrine disorders, particularly osteoporosis and skeletal dysplasias, MODY [maturity-onset diabetes of the young], and phaeochromocytomas/paragangliomas. Prof Duncan’s practical experience in gene mapping includes genetic epidemiology, linkage, genome-wide association studies, and massively parallel sequencing (MPS); and she has played a pioneering role in the translation of genomic technologies into clinical practice. She has also published multiple clinical research papers. During the pandemic she has also led projects investigating COVID-19, particularly long-COVID and the genetics thereof; and she is co-founder of the KCL COVID Symptom Study Biobank.

Prof Duncan practises as a consultant physician and specialist endocrinologist at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, with special interest in bone and neuroendocrine disorders. She contributes to leadership and governance nationally and internationally, previously serving as President of the Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society and currently serving on Council for the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research and as Associate Editor of the Journal for Bone and Mineral Research.