The research interest primarily lies in finding innovative analytical chemistry solutions to determine drugs (and their metabolites), peptides, and proteins in complex biological samples.
The research projects focus on determining peptides and proteins at ultra-low concentrations (10-12 M level) in very small volumes of complex biological matrices such as blood, urine, or cell cultures. This is achieved using advanced sample preparation linked to LC-MS/MS, enabling earlier, better-differentiated, and more precise diagnoses (without false positive/negative results) compared to the techniques currently used in routine analyses.
In recent years, we have explored the use of DBS in combination with MS-based protein analysis and introduced "smart blood spot sampling," where the necessary sample pretreatment is integrated into the DBS card, allowing many pretreatment steps to be performed at the time of sampling. This facilitates the analysis of low-abundance protein markers, although practical challenges remain in processing the proteins for LC-MS analysis upon at the laboratory.
Background
Master’s degree in molecular toxicology from Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam (Netherlands) and a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical analysis from Utrecht University in Utrecht (Netherlands). After completing the education, moved to Norway and worked in R&D at Nycomed Imaging AS and Amersham Pharmacia Biotech AS.
Employed at the Department of Pharmacy since 1999, and since 2005 as a professor. Conducted extended research stays at Utrecht University (Netherlands) and Caltech (Pasadena, CA, USA).