EASTBIO: Developing ion mobility high resolution mass spectrometry as a next generation tool for lipidomics in complex biological mixtures

Lipids have a diverse set of roles in maintaining cell function, including being key components of membranes, major energy stores and important signalling molecules across all kingdoms of life. Lipid signalling is not just key to maintaining cell-function within an organism, but also between organisms e.g. the gut microbiota, regulation of plant and animal host defences against pathogens. A major challenge in studying lipids is how to separate chemically similar molecules in a complex mixture such as a cell/tissue extract. There is an urgent need to address this bioanalytical challenge if we are to address some of the fundamental questions about cell function and organism health.

While high resolution mass spectrometry has revolutionised the study of lipids (termed lipidomics) it cannot separate isobaric species (ions with the same mass to charge ratio) and requires complex fragmentation or chromatography strategies to discriminate these ions. Recently, ion mobility spectroscopy (IMS), the separation of ions according to their size to charge ratio, has provided a new dimension for lipidomics. This PhD studentship will design new workflows for the improved separation of lipids in cell and tissue extracts, and develop analytical strategies for the identification of lipophilic xenobiotics that accumulate in the environment. We will use a range of multivariate statistics and machine learning tools to optimise workflows to separate and quantify lipids. Current methods rely on long chromatography run times (>30 min) to optimise separation, but with IMS in conjunction with mass spectrometry this could be reduced to <5 min, dramatically increasing throughput. The ability of IMS to resolve isomeric compounds that are not resolved through chromatography, will also be a key advancement.

We will apply these tools to three important biological problems:

1. The separation of lipids in cell membranes from adipose tissue from lean and obese mice to understand how diets high in saturated fat produce lipid remodelling (Rowett Institute)
2. The detection of xenobiotics in adipose tissue from wild and farmed fish to understand environmental exposure and accumulation (Rowett Institute)
3. Glycolipid composition in leaf surface waxes and plant derived food oils (James Hutton Institute), with a potential extension to polyphenolic compounds of importance in foods and human health

The ideal candidate will have a relevant BSc, Masters or equivalent in Biochemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition or a related field. Training will be provided in mass spectrometry and multivariate statistics used to interrogate the -omic data the project will generate.

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Application Procedure:

Please visit this page for full application information: BBSRC EASTBIO Doctoral Training Partnership Studentship | The School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition | The University of Aberdeen (abdn.ac.uk)

Please send your completed EASTBIO application form, along with academic transcripts to Alison Innes at [Email Address Removed]

Two references should be provided by the deadline using the EASTBIO reference form.

Please advise your referees to return the reference form to [Email Address Removed]