Research areas
Biological mass spectrometry
Biological mass spectrometry is a versatile and powerful technique for global protein and metabolite analysis of biological systems and for detailed analysis of molecular structures, molecular mechanisms and protein networks in health and disease. We use multi-modal proteomics and other -omics methods to provide molecular knowledge in disease biology focusing on infectious disease, systems immunology, sepsis and cancer. We strive to further improve the capabilities in mass spectrometry by combining new data acquisition techniques and to develop novel AI-based data analysis tools.
Infection & sepsis
In the past decade, we have been pioneering the development of systems-wide approaches to elucidate molecular mechanisms shaping the interaction between host immunity and pathogens. We leverage new integrated strategies based on “systems molecular medicine”, where a variety of state-of-the-art mass spectrometric and computational tools are combined with both in vitro and in vivo models to identify new drug targets to better cope with infections. We typically work in close collaboration with medical doctors and specialists in infectious diseases, and put efforts into translating our findings to clinical samples, to achieve a faster delivery of knowledge and technology from the lab bench to bed-side.
Bioinformatics
Computational methods are central to several aspects of our work. We apply state-of-the-art algorithms and develop novel methodologies in fields ranging from signal processing and applied machine learning for mass spectrometric spectral processing, explainable artificial intelligence for biomarker discovery, deep learning for structural modelling, and protein design for vaccine development. These methods allow us to dig deeper into the proteome, understand complex diseases, and design novel treatments.
Systems immunology & vaccines
Vaccine development strategies rely heavily on in-depth knowledge of antigenic repertoires and antibody properties. Our research focus on coupling various high-resolution mass spectrometry based quantitative-, structural- and glyco-proteomics methods to survey bacterial antigens in an unbiased fashion and delineate the properties of antibodies and antibody binding to these antigens directly in clinical samples. These discoveries enable production of human-derived monoclonal antibodies to catalyze antibody-guided vaccine design approaches against bacteria.
Cancer proteogenomics
Integrated analysis workflows have become the go-to method in large scale cancer research, defining in detail the molecular characteristics of tumors and their connection to cancer origin and spread, therapy resistance, or interaction with the immune system. We employ genomic, transcriptomic, and multiple proteomic technologies to connect gene information and tumor cell biology to deconvolute molecular mechanisms of therapy resistance, tumor recurrence formation, and neo-epitopes for immunotherapy. Through our local, national, and international network of cell biology experts, medical specialists, and high-level computational experts, we derive and test candidate biomarkers and alternative drug treatments in clinical material as well as pre-clinical models so-to further personalize the next generation of cancer treatments.
