Project Goal

We apply integrated quantitative lipidomics approaches (targeted and non-targeted) developed in-house to unravel subtle changes behind a myriad of biological phenomena from an extensive array of organisms. Our central focus lies in investigating lipid-centric mechanisms underlying major diseases threatening public health, including diabetes, dementia, as well as various forms of cardiovascular complications.

Biggest Challenges Right Now

• To maximize metabolite coverage and quantitative accuracy while cutting down analytical time
• Develop analytical workflows that can accommodate a complex range of biological matrices by streamlining sample pre-treatment procedures and utilizing the improved selectivity of MRM3 functions
• To derive biologically meaningful patterns from big data generated from Omics, via
  • Pathway-oriented methods covering critical branches connecting the metabolism of lipids & non-lipid metabolites
  • Tailored bioinformatics approaches allowing direct and quick data visualization of pathway disturbances

Outcomes of Research

• Use Omics to drive research at both the bench and bedside.
• A semi-quantitative analytical workflow covering more than 7000 lipids from over 20 subclasses in the common model organism Caenorhabditis elegans for forwarding metabolic and lipid research
• An extensive and sensitive quantitative workflow for low volume human plasma/serum samples that allows high throughput monitoring of subtle changes in more than 1000 lipids and other metabolites for use in clinical studies