When was the moment you fell in love with Mass Spectrometry?
I got into Mass Spectrometry by serendipity, winning the European fellowship “Leonardo da Vinci” in a mass spectrometry lab in Germany. I started to work with 2D-Electrophoresis and MALDI-MS to identify biomarkers for liver cancer, with all the challenges with these technologies one can think of now. I met very passionate colleagues and mentors from then on, who educated me and showed me how dedication and perseverance pay off. I have been extremely fortunate to have worked with scientists and clinicians who believe MS could become such a powerful technology... and almost two decades later, I am proud to be part of this community, deeply grateful to all my mentors, colleagues, and friends!
What is the best thing that could happen to the field of Mass Spectrometry in 5 years?
As a fan of Mass Spectrometry, I see a bright future ahead. The exponential growth in the development of mass spectrometers, bioinformatics and sample prep solutions, with increased robustness, sensitivity, and speed, is fast-forwarding the broader application of mass spec-based workflows in drug discovery to clinical diagnostics. If also the mass spectrometers become more affordable, it can only get better!
What has been the proudest moment in your life science career?
I am proud to have contributed as a student first and then with my labs, in providing unbiased mass spec-based solutions to unravel pre-existing challenges with other technologies. Amongst them, a novel high-throughput MALDI-MS screening of DUB activities and specificities with more physiological-like molecules than existing fluorescent assays, developed with a great team at MRC-PPU in Dundee UK; a non-invasive targeted MS assay to quantify clonotypic peptides for spotting minimal residual disease in Multiple Myeloma without the need of invasive bone marrow aspirates, developed by my team at MSKCC.
And the good part is, most of those applications are still in use, part of the continue efforts in setting up pipeline to adjuvate the development of future precision therapies.
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