Over the past year, Bioanalysis has featured profiles of eight young bioanalysts Citation[1–8] from around the world, nominated by their supervisors. The Young Investigators are given the opportunity to highlight their bioanalytical work to date, discuss their future career aspirations and give their thoughts on the future evolution of the field of bioanalysis. The Bioanalysis Young Investigator 2010 was decided on the basis of votes cast by our international editorial advisory board.
And the winner is…
Stephen Holman, who received the majority of the votes from our editorial board and was the clear winner of the Bioanalysis Young Investigator of the Year (2010). Congratulations Stephen! Bioanalysis visited Stephen at his laboratory to present him with the award.
At the time of his nomination, Stephen was based at the University of Southampton working on using mass spectrometry to definitively characterize pharmaceutical drug metabolites Citation[9–12] [Holman SW, Wright P, Langley GJ. A study of the fragmentation behaviour of protonated β-blockers using low-energy collision-induced dissociation-tandem mass spectrometry. Manuscript in preparation]. Stephen is now a postdoctoral research associate at The Michael Barber Centre for Mass Spectrometry, University of Manchester, UK.
Stephen explained that he has now fulfilled one of his aspirations to move into postdoctoral research on macromolecule analysis: “I am currently working in the field of proteomics, specifically in the area of absolute quantification. The project in which I am involved is aiming to absolutely quantify the proteome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae using the QconCAT methodology Citation[13,14]. This dataset, which will express each protein in terms of copy number per cell, will provide an invaluable resource to the systems biology community for the development of accurate mathematical models to understand cellular processes. The project itself involves a number of methodological challenges, which have necessitated developments throughout the workflow, from production of the proteins, through to sample preparation and finally in the analytical methods for quantification. In addition to my post-doctoral project, I also retain a research interest in small-molecule mass spectrometry for bioanalytical applications. I am currently involved in a project with collaborators from both Pfizer Global Research and Development and the universities of Greenwich and Southampton investigating the use of computational calculations to understand and predict tandem mass spectra Citation[15,16]. The ultimate aim is to develop an in silico package capable of accurate prediction and interpretation of raw tandem mass spectra, which will be of use in many areas of small molecule bioanalysis, including pharmaceutical science, toxicology and metabolomics.”
Stephen is enthusiastic about his future career, as he explained his 5-year plan to Bioanalysis: “My current position will take me to the cusp of the 5-year period, so at that time I hope to be embarking on an independent research career in an academic environment, via the route of a fellowship. The freedom which academia affords to investigate a wide variety of areas with less limitations compared with industry particularly appeals to my inquisitive nature, with the “thrill of the scientific chase” always paramount. I hope that my current research projects will allow me to develop my ability for creative thought, so as to identify hitherto unexplored areas in which useful research could be performed and formulate testable hypotheses to answer scientific questions. I also hope that the projects will enable me to compile an extensive publication list to demonstrate my ability to perform high-quality research and support my application for independent research fellowships.”
Stephen receives a complementary 1-year subscription to Bioanalysis and the next paper he submits to Bioanalysis will be highlighted as “Young Investigator of the Year 2010” and made free-to-view permanently, which we hope will further boost his research career.
We hope you go on to have a very successful research career!
Now accepting nominations for 2011
Bioanalysis is now accepting nominations for Young Investigators for 2011. They should be under the age of 30, including Masters and Doctorate students, Postdoctorate researchers and those working in industry. If you wish to nominate a Young Investigator, please contact the Commissioning Editor at: [email protected]
We also caught up with the remaining Young Investigators; their current work is briefly summarized below. Many of the Young Investigators have now moved onwards and upwards in their careers, highlighting the fluid nature of this field.
John E Schiel
Affiliation when nominated: University of Nebraska, USA Citation[1]
Current affiliation: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA
Position: Postdoctoral research chemist
Research area: Proteins often exist as heterogeneous mixtures of glycoforms due to glycosylation at numerous sites with various glycans. The glycosylation pattern has significant implications for clinical diagnostics and biopharmaceutical development because it affects stability, toxicity and activity. Complete glycoprotein characterization involves numerous multidisciplinary techniques, including many invaluable MS-based approaches. My recent research has involved exploration of chemoenzymatic methods for engineering glycoproteins and/or glycopeptides to contain a single, well-defined glycan. The prepared materials are subsequently analyzed using MS-based characterization. These materials may serve as a useful reference material for interlaboratory comparison and harmonization of various techniques. In addition, novel methods for glycoprotein characterization and quantification are being explored.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Glycosylation plays a significant role in interactions responsible for disease, may serve as a biomarker and can also have a significant impact on the behavior of a biopharmaceutical. As our understanding of disease increases and the biologics industry grows, a need for continual analytical development capable of identifying and understanding very complex changes in glycoprotein composition will be required. In the coming years, I plan to continue to build my expertise in glycobiology in an effort to meet the challenges we face in understanding disease and developing relevant drugs. I would like to eventually lead a team of scientists in an effort to satisfy the ever-growing needs of the healthcare field with analytical solutions [Schiel JE, Lowenthal MS, Phinney KW. Chemoenzymatic synthesis and mass spectrometry-based characterization of a homogeneous glycoprotein. Manuscript in Preparation] Citation[17–21].
Aaron Hernandez-Santana
Affiliation when nominated: Dublin City University, Ireland Citation[2]
Current affiliation: Centre for Molecular Nanometrology, Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow
Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate
PhD: Biospectroscopy
Research area: My current research specializes in the use of dip-pen nanolithography to create biosensing platforms for cell growth and disease detection. One of the aims of my work is to fabricate surfaces with specific patterns and chemical functionalities to try to control stem cell behavior Citation[22].
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I still really enjoy working in research. I am involved in many scientifically challenging projects so I am constantly learning and acquiring new skills. My ambition for the future would be to seek funding to pursue my own research ideas.
Anderson Rodrigo Moraes de Oliveira
Current Affiliation: Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil Citation[4]
Position: Professor
PhD: Toxicology
Research area: Enantioselective in vitro metabolism, in vitro metabolism of nitrosyl ruthenium complexes and natural products and sample preparation microtechniques.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I would like to be the head of a center for in vitro metabolism studies in order to offer assistance in this topic in the Chemistry Department Citation[23–26].
Jean-Nicolas Mess
Affiliation: Alorithme Pharma, Canada Citation[5]
Position: Principal scientist
MSc: Biochemistry
Research area: Bioanalysis to support bioequivalence and Phase I studies.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
It is difficult to predict where I will be in 5 years from now. The industry of bioanalytical research is in constant evolution and its applications are widespread. Nevertheless, I still want to continue working in a laboratory environment working with the most advanced technology. I have the opportunity to occupy a challenging position where I can work on complex method developments to support bioequivalence and Phase I pharmacokinetic studies. Everyday, I don’t know what kind of challenging issues I will face, which motivates me and enhances my scientific skills Citation[27–30].
Lianrong Wang
Affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA Citation[6]
Position: Postdoctoral associate
PhD: Molecular biology and bioanalysis
Research area: To understand the naturally occurring and sulfur-involved modification in the DNA backbone Citation[30,31].
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In the next five years, I plan to pursue a faculty position in China to continue my research work.
Noel Alex Gomes
Affiliation: Accutest Research Laboratories, India Citation[7]
Position: Assistant general manager
PhD: Analytical chemistry using instrumental techniques for the quantification of small molecules either in vivo or in vitro.
Research area: Analytical chemistry.
Igor Rafael dos Santos Magalhães
Affiliation when nominated: Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil Citation[8]
Current Affiliation: Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Brazil
Position: Postdoctorate researcher
PhD: Toxicology
Research area: Enantioselective determination of antimalarial drugs and their metabolites in biosamples collected from Amazonian patients treated with these agents. The goal of this research is to provide substantial information concerning the pharmacokinetics of these analytes, which may further be used to obtain a better understanding of the malaria clinical outcome, for instance, the occurrence of adverse effects or parasitic resistance during the treatment Citation[32,33].
Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
I really intend to work on this area of research in the next years. In order to achieve this, I will try a tenure position as a full-time professor at this institution. Besides that, I am also excited with researching, in the near future, in vitro studies for the screening of ADME properties in drug discovery, such as those employed to verify drug metabolic stability and to identify potential substrates for drug transporters, which have caught my attention lately due to the several scientific possibilities offered by these assays.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect official policy of the US FDA. No official endorsement by the FDA is intended or should be inferred.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
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