I am principle operator of QI mass spectrometry, also liaising with John Innes facilities.  I undertake untargeted work for which I used a quadrupole – time of flight instrument also more of my time is spent using the pair of triple quadrupole instruments for targeted work.

I am involved with many groups within QIB to meet mass spectrometry needs.  Popular work involves bile acid profiling from the gut, faeces and liver. A complimentary lipid profiling technique is newly developed to run alongside these analyses.

I also work closely with the Food and Health phytochemicals group to profile anthocyanins and other natural compounds, including analysis of intervention studies looking for targeted metabolites in urine and plasma.

Within the analytical sciences group I am involved in the determination of food fraud with respect to meat speciation and cheese by peptide profiling. I regularly undertake ad-hoc analyses from other groups to analyses toxins in milk or profile baby formula compared to breast milk.

Working alongside our NMR facilities I regularly prepare analytical samples and oversee some of the maintenance of this instrument. I also undertake commercial work through IFR-Extra which normally involved development of a niche method to meet the client’s requirements.

Key Publications

Watson A. D., Gunning Y., Rigby N. M., Philo M., Kemsley E. K. (2015) Rapid Meat Authentication via MRM Mass Spectrometry of Myoglobin Peptides Analytical Chemistry  87 10315-10322