Physics Colloquium, Ron Heeren, University of Maastricht

Abstract:

A comprehensive understanding of molecular patterns of health and disease is needed to pave the way for personalized medicine and tissue regeneration.

New, physical technology developments in mass spectrometry based chemical microscopes have now firmly established themselves in translational research. They target biomedical tissue analysis in various diseases as well as other chemically complex surfaces. In concert they elucidate the way in which local environments can influence molecular signalling pathways on various scales, from molecule to man. The integration of this pathway information in a surgical setting is imminent, but innovations that push the boundaries of the technology and its application are still needed.

These developments require a strong interdisciplinary approach where physicists, chemists, biologists and clinicians come together to tackle the complexity of life. In particular, researchers investigate comprehensive and isolated biomolecular molecular patterns of health and disease. This is a key element needed to pave the way for personalized medicine and tissue regeneration.

One barrier to predictive, personalized medicine is the lack of a comprehensive molecular understanding at the tissue level. As we grasp the astonishing complexity of biological systems (whether single cells or whole organisms), it becomes more and more evident that within this complexity lies the information needed to provide insight in the origin, progression and treatment of various diseases.

The best way to capture disease complexity is to chart and connect multilevel molecular information within a tissue using mass spectrometry and data algorithms. This enables translation of high end molecular imaging technologies to the clinical practice in pathology and surgery.