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Dr Bruce Milne

Dr Bruce Milne
Dr Bruce Milne
Dr Bruce Milne

MInstP, MRSC

Senior Research Fellow

About
Office Address
G25 Meston Building
Old Aberdeen Campus
Meston Walk
AB24 3UE

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School/Department
School of Natural and Computing Sciences

Biography

Recent News

Dr Milne has led the development of a new partnership between the Department of Chemistry and Aberdeenshire Council to offer Foundation Apprenticeship placements in Scientific Technologies. Following on from an event organised by Dr Milne at the Science Teaching Hub, Aberdeenshire Council approved placements in Advanced Energy Materials, Natural Products (Drug) Discovery, and Pharmaceutical Testing with the Department of Chemistry the largest single provider of placements in the Foundation Apprenticeship Scientific Technologies stream in the North East of Scotland. The first cohort of 10 pupils started at the beginning of November 2025, supporting skills development and future workforce readiness across the North East. 

Update: This has been expanded to include Aberdeen City schools (through partnership with North East Scotland College) and the Department of Chemistry is now hosting placements from both the City and Shire. 

Previous positions

  • Honorary lecturer, Department of Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, Scotland 2021 - 2023
  • Invited professor, Departamento de Física, Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal 2021 - 2023
  • Research scientist, Departamento de Química, Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal 2017 - 2018
  • Invited researcher, Donostia International Physics Centre: Nano-Bio Spectroscopy Group and European Theoretical Spectroscopy Facility scientific development centre, Universidade de Pais Vasco, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain 2013 - 2017
  • Research scientist, Centro de Física (CFisUC), Departamento de Física, Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal 2008 - 2021
  • Post-doctoral fellow, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, Portugal 2004 - 2007
  • PDRA, Tau Therapeutics, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland 2002 - 2004
  • PDRA, Nutritional Chemistry Group, Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland 2002 - 2002
  • Laboratory technician, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland 1991 - 1993

Qualifications

  • BSc (Hons) Chemistry 
    1998 - University of Aberdeen 
  • PhD Chemistry 
    2002 - University of Aberdeen 

Internal Memberships

Director of Recruitment and Outreach (Chemistry)

Research

Research Areas

Physics

Supervising
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Chemistry

Supervising
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Biomedical Sciences

Supervising
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Past Research

Software

pyBOILEDegg Program to predict absorption/distribution characteristics of molecules in the human body through likelihood of gastrointestinal absorption and ability to cross the blood-brain-barrier. https://github.com/bfmilne/pyBOILEDegg, 2021.

pyNCI Python tool for analyzing non-covalent interactions (NCIs) from electron density cube files. https://gitlab.com/diofalmeida/pynci/-/tree/master, 2020.

Open science discovery of potent noncovalent SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors

An open science, crowdsourced drug discovery campaign against the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro led to a potent, noncovalent, and nonpeptidic inhibitor scaffold with lead-like properties. We generated copious structural, biochemical, and pharmacological data that were shared rapidly and openly, creating a rich, open, and intellectual property–free knowledge base for future anticoronavirus drug discovery.

Article in Science

Collaborations

COVID moonshot: Open science discovery of SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors by combining crowdsourcing, high-throughput experiments, computational simulations, and machine learning.

Member of COVID Moonshot consortium. Article published in Science.

Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID_Moonshot 

 

Industrial collaborations

TauRx Ltd University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland. https://taurx.com/ (2020 – present)

GyreOx Ltd Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell, Oxfordshire, England. https://www.gyreox.com/ (2020 - 2023)

Lytix Biopharma AS P.O. Box 6447, NO-9294 Trømso, Norway. http://www.lytixbiopharma.com/ (2009 – 2010)

Aquapharm Biodiscovery Ltd European Centre for Marine Biotechnology, Dunbeg, Oban, Scotland. http://www.aquapharm.co.uk/ (2007 – 2008)

Supervision

My current supervision areas are: Physics, Chemistry, Biomedical Sciences.

I am currently supervising postgraduate researchers in the areas of

  • Real-space (time-dependent) density functional theory for organic (opto)electronic materials
  • Computational ensemble-based approaches to predicting solubilities for conformationally flexible solutes
  • Computer-aided drug design focussing on modified cyclic peptide ligands as potential therapeutic agents against Coronavirus infection and replication processes

Funding and Grants

Centre for Physics of the University of Coimbra, Portugal

The Centre for Physics of the University of Coimbra (CFisUC) is a Research Institute committed to excellence in Physics. CFisUC is located in the Physics Department of the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra. The centre results from the merger of the Centro de Física Computacional and of the Centro de Estudos de Materiais por Difração de Raios-X. It has strong collaborations with other research institutes in Coimbra: LIP, CNC, and CISUC.

Members of CFisUC are the Portuguese representatives in PRACE, the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe.

Supported by Fundação para Ciência e Tecnologia projects:

  • UIDB/04564/2020
  • UIDP/04564/2020
  • UID/FIS04564/2019
  • UID/FIS04564/2016

 

Cyclic peptide inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 main protease

Milne, B. F., Principal Investigator, Chemistry (via Department of Physics, University of Coimbra)

  • Funder Project Reference: 2021.09804.CPCA

RNCA (National Network for Advanced Computing, FCT, Portugal): 1.2 Million core-hours on Navigator+ HPC system

UK financial equivalent: £120,000.00 

1/02/2022 → 31/01/2023

(NOTE: After the award was confirmed, the number core-hours was matched by the Laboratory for Advanced Computing which manage the Navigator+ system leading to a total of 2.4 million hours.)

DOWNSTREAM PROCESSING AND STRUCTURE CONFIRMATION OF CHEMOENZYMATICALLY PRODUCED MACROCYCLES

Jaspars, M., Principal Investigator, Chemistry

Milne, B. F., Co-Investigator, Chemistry

Houssen, W. E., Co-Investigator, Medical Sciences

  • Funder Project Reference: BB/W059899/1
  • Reference code: RG15926

BBSRC: £102,026.00

1/09/21 → 31/08/25

Teaching

Teaching Responsibilities

CM1522 Elements of Chemistry 2

CM4028 Honours Chemistry Research Project

SX3002 Science and Society

Publications

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  • Data Storage in Marine Bioprospecting:​ BBNJ and DSI​

    Milne, B.
    Contributions to Conferences: Oral Presentations

  • SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein-Derived Cyclic Peptides as Modulators of Spike Interaction with GRP78

    Johnson, N. R., Pattinson, C., Burgoyne, K., Hijazi, K., Houssen, W. E., Milne, B.
    ChemBioChem, vol. 25, no. 12, pp. 1-6
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Open science discovery of potent noncovalent SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors

    Boby, M. L., Fearon, D., Ferla, M., Filep, M., Koekemoer, L., Robinson, M. C., COVID Moonshot Consortium, Chodera, J. D., Lee, A. A., London, N., von Delft, A., von Delft, F., Milne, B. F.
    Science (New York, N.Y.), vol. 382, no. 6671, eabo7201
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Discovery and structural assignment of (S)-sydosine from amphipod-derived Aspergillus sydowii MBC15-11F through HRMS, advanced Mosher and molecular modelling analyses

    Qader, M., Mweetwa, L. L., Rämä, T., Thissera, B., Milne, B. F., Abdelmohsen, U. R., Orfali, R., Tawfike, A., Esheli, M., Oluwabusola, E. T., Jaysainghe, L., Jaspars, M., Rateb, M. E.
    Journal of Applied Microbiology, vol. 134, no. 8, lxad158
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • First-principles study of electronic and optical properties in 1-dimensional oligomeric derivatives of telomestatin

    Mérgola-Greef, J., Milne, B. F.
    Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, vol. 25, no. 18, pp. 12744-12753
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Downstream processing and structure confirmation of chemoenzymatically produced macrocycles

    Mergola-Greef, J., Milne, B., Jaspars, M.
    15º Encontro Nacional de Química Física
    Contributions to Conferences: Posters

  • First-principles study of electronic and optical properties in 1-dimensional oligomeric derivatives of telomestatin

    Mergola-Greef, J., Milne, B.
    15º Encontro Nacional de Química Física
    Contributions to Conferences: Posters

  • Turning high-throughput structural biology into predictive inhibitor design

    Saar, K. L., McCorkindale, W., Fearon, D., Boby, M. L., Barr, H., Ben-Shmuel, A., COVID Moonshot Consortium, London, N., von Delft, F., Chodera, J. D., Lee, A. A., Milne, B.
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 120, no. 11, pp. e2214168120
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • First-principles study of electronic and optical properties in 1-D oligomeric derivatives of telomestatin

    Mergola-Greef, J., Milne, B. F.
    Working Papers: Preprint Papers

  • Arabinofuranosyl Thymine Derivatives—Potential Candidates against Cowpox Virus: A Computational Screening Study

    Hasan, A. H., Preet, G., Milne, B. F., Ebel, R., Jaspars, M.
    International Journal of Molecular Sciences, vol. 24, no. 2, 1751
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Antiparasitic Activities of Compounds Isolated from Aspergillus fumigatus Strain Discovered in Northcentral Nigeria

    Diyaolu, O. A., Preet, G., Fagbemi, A. A., Annang, F., Pérez-Moreno, G., Bosch-Navarrete, C., Adebisi, O. O., Oluwabusola, E. T., Milne, B. F., Jaspars, M., Ebel, R.
    Antibiotics, vol. 12, no. 1, 109
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Computational Repurposing of Mitoxantrone-Related Structures against Monkeypox Virus: A Molecular Docking and 3D Pharmacophore Study

    Preet, G., Oluwabusola, E. T., Milne, B. F., Ebel, R., Jaspars, M.
    International Journal of Molecular Sciences, vol. 23, no. 22, 14287
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Mutactimycin AP, a New Mutactimycin Isolated from an Actinobacteria from the Atacama Desert

    Astakala, R. V., Preet, G., Milne, B., Tibyangye, J., Razmilic, V., Castro, J. F., Asenjo, J. A., Andrews, B., Ebel, R., Jaspars, M.
    Molecules, vol. 27, no. 21, 7185
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • A ribosomally synthesised and post-translationally modified peptide containing a β-enamino acid and a macrocyclic motif

    Wang, S., Lin, S., Fang, Q., Gyampoh, R., Lu, Z., Gao, Y., Clarke, D. J., Wu, K., Trembleau, L., Yu, Y., Kyeremeh, K., Milne, B. F., Tabudravu, J., Deng, H.
    Nature Communications, vol. 13, no. 1, 5044
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • SARS-CoV-2 infects the human kidney and drives fibrosis in kidney organoids

    Jansen, J., Reimer, K. C., Nagai, J. S., Varghese, F. S., Overheul, G. J., de Beer, M., Roverts, R., Daviran, D., Fermin, L. A., Willemsen, B., Beukenboom, M., Djudjaj, S., von Stillfried, S., van Eijk, L. E., Mastik, M., Bulthuis, M., Dunnen, W. d., van Goor, H., Hillebrands, J., Triana, S. H., Alexandrov, T., Timm, M., van den Berge, B. T., van den Broek, M., Nlandu, Q., Heijnert, J., Bindels, E. M., Hoogenboezem, R. M., Mooren, F., Kuppe, C., Miesen, P., Grünberg, K., Ijzermans, T., Steenbergen, E. J., Czogalla, J., Schreuder, M. F., Sommerdijk, N., Akiva, A., Boor, P., Puelles, V. G., Floege, J., Huber, T. B., Achdout, H., Aimon, A., Bar-David, E., Barr, H., Ben-Shmuel, A., Bennett, J., Boby, M. L., Borden, B., Bowman, G. R., Brun, J., BVNBS, S., Calmiano, M., Carbery, A., Cattermole, E., Chernychenko, E., Choder, J. D., Clyde, A., Coffland, J. E., Cohen, G., Cole, J., Contini, A., Cox, L., Cvitkovic, M., Dias, A., Donckers, K., Dotson, D. L., Douangamath, A., Duberstein, S., Dudgeon, T., Dunnett, L., Eastman, P. K., Erez, N., Eyermann, C. J., Fairhead, M., Fate, G., Fearon, D., Federov, O., Ferla, M., Fernandes, R. S., Ferrins, L., Foster, R., Foster, H., Gabizon, R., Garcia-Sastre, A., Gawriljuk, V. O., Gehrtz, P., Gileadi, C., Giroud, C., Glass, W. G., Glen, R., glinert, I., Godoy, A. S., Gorichko, M., Gorrie-Stone, T., Griffen, E. J., Hart, S. H., Heer, J., Henry, M., Hill, M., Horrell, S., Hurley, M. F., Israely, T., Jajack, A., Jnoff, E., Jochmans, D., John, T., De Jonghe, S., Kantsadi, A. L., Kenny, P. W., Kiappes, J., Koekemoer, L., Kovar, B., Krojer, T., Lee, A. A., Lefker, B. A., Levy, H., London, N., Lukacik, P., Macdonald, H. B., Maclean, B., Malla, T. R., Matviiuk, T., McCorkindale, W., McGovern, B. L., Melamed, S., Michurin, O., Mikolajek, H., Milne, B. F., Morris, A., Morris, G. M., Morwitzer, M. J., Moustakas, D., Nakamura, A. M., Neto, J. B., Neyts, J., Nguyen, L., Noske, G. D., Oleinikovas, V., Oliva, G., Owen, D., Psenak, V., Pai, R., Pan, J., Paran, N., Perry, B., Pingle, M., Pinjari, J., Politi, B., Powell, A., Puni, R., Rangel, V. L., Reddi, R. N., Reid, S. P., Resnick, E., Ripka, E. G., Robinson, M. C., Robinson, R. P., Rodriguez-Guerra, J., Rosales, R., Rufa, D., Schofield, C., Shafeev, M., Shaikh, A., Shi, J., Shurrush, K., Sing, S., Sittner, A., Skyner, R., Smalley, A., Smilova, M. D., Solmesky, L. J., Spencer, J., Strain-Damarell, C., Swamy, V., Tamir, H., Tennant, R., Thompson, W., Thompson, A., Tomasia, S., Tumber, A., Vakonakis, I., van Rij, R. P., van Geel, L., Vaschetto, M., Vitner, E. B., Voelz, V., Volkamer, A., von Delft, F., von Delft, A., Walsh, M., Ward, W., Weatherall, C., Weiss, S., White, K. M., Wild, C. F., Wittmann, M., Wright, N., Yahalom-Ronen, Y., Zaidmann, D., Zidane, H., Zitzmann, N., Costa, I. G., Schneider, R. K., Smeets, B., Kramann, R.
    Cell Stem Cell, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 217-231.e8
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • First-principles characterisation of spectroscopic and bonding properties of cationic bismuth carbide clusters

    Almeida, D. A., Oliveira, M. J., Milne, B. F.
    Computational and Theoretical Chemistry, vol. 1204, 113372
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • pyBOILEDegg: a program to predict absorption/distribution characteristics of molecules in the human body through likelihood of gastrointestinal absorption and ability to cross the blood-brain-barrier

    Milne, B. F.
    Zenodo (Software).
    Other Contributions: Other Contributions

  • PyNCI

    Almeida, D. A., Milne, B.
    Zenodo.
    Other Contributions: Other Contributions

  • On the Single Wall Carbon Nanotube Surface Plasmon Stability

    Silva, J., Milne, B. F., Nogueira, F.
    EPJ Web Conf., vol. 233, 05009
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Synthesis, Characterization and Evaluation of the Antibacterial and Antitumor Activity of HalogenatedSalen Copper (II) Complexes derived from Camphoric Acid

    Pires, A. S., Batista, J., Murtinho, D., Nogueira, C., Karamysheva, A., Luísa Ramos, M., Milne, B. F., Tavares, N. T., Gonçalves, J., Gonçalves, A. C., Abrantes, A. M., Soares, R., Gonçalves, T., Botelho, M. F., Silva Serra, M. E.
    Applied Organometallic Chemistry, vol. 34, no. 5, e5569
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Structure‐based design, synthesis and bioactivity of a new anti‐TNFα cyclopeptide

    Idress, M., Milne, B. F., Thompson, G. S., Trembleau, L., Jaspars, M., Houssen, W. E.
    Molecules, vol. 25, no. 4, 922
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • MS Dereplication for Rapid Discovery of Structurally New or Novel Natural Products

    Tabudravu, J., Pellissier, L., Smith, A. J., Kid, R., Milton, E. J., Deng, H., Ebel, R., Gissi, C., Milne, B. F., Cimpan, G., Jaspars, M.
    Marine Drugs, vol. 18, no. 40, pp. 56-57
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Field-dependent electrical properties of carbon nanotubes from first-principles: negative differential conductance, current oscillations and molecular sensing

    Silva, J., Milne, B. F., Nogueira, F.
    Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, vol. 32, no. 13, 135502
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Optical excitations of chlorophyll a and b monomers and dimers

    Preciado-Rivas, M. R., Mowbray, D. J., Lyon, K., Larsen, A. H., Milne, B. F.
    The Journal of Chemical Physics, vol. 151, no. 17, 174102
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

  • Optical Excitations of Chlorophyll a and b Monomers and Dimers

    Preciado-Rivas, M. R., Mowbray, D. J., Lyon, K., Larsen, A. H., Milne, B. F.
    Working Papers: Preprint Papers
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