We are a global magnet for collaborating parties in lipidomics research and education.

Lipids are organic compounds of enormous chemical diversity and are the main components of oils, fats and fuels as well as bio-membranes in living organisms. Despite their crucial roles in living organisms, many functions of lipids remain poorly understood, particularly at the molecular level. Neither do we have good estimates for the number of lipids found in an organism and their biological variation. Genes do not encode lipids. Instead, genes encode for enzymes that, together with influences from the diet and the environment, determine lipid inventories in biological systems.

The main aims of our research is to identify and quantify lipids with high fidelity.

The determination of such lipidomic variations requires adequate technologies. Our team has made seminal contributions towards the development of such novel technologies which have broad applicability. Consequently, we are now internationally recognized for advancing the field of lipidomics. Defining the concentration boundaries for individual lipids is a scientific pre-requisite to better understand lipid function. Lipidomics (the systems-level scale analysis of lipids and their interactors) thereby adds a complementary layer of information to our understanding of genetic and proteomic variations.

Mass spectrometry-based lipidomics is an ‘interface’ discipline. On its own and, at best, it yields qualitative and quantitative information on the lipid composition of a complex mixture derived from a small sample of biological origins; thus, a highly descriptive discipline. The advantages of mass spectrometry-based lipidomics lie in its sensitivity and resolution. The technology allows for ‘high definition’ insight into complex lipid mixtures that was not available 30 years ago. When applied appropriately, such new details can be of enormous value in integrative research that aims to address the function and biological relevance of lipids.