Speakers - 2025
Magnus Palmblad’s group uses computational and systematic approaches to molecular biology, focusing on applying mass spectrometry in proteomics and metabolomics, and developing new methods to answer fundamental biological questions, in cell cultures, model organisms, the human proteome and population cohorts, integrating genetic variants or transcripts with protein abundance, gene expression with protein synthesis, and metabolomics data with text mining and computational chemistry.
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Magnus Palmblad
Associate Professor
Leiden University
His research focuses on applying mass spectrometry in proteomics and metabolomics, and developing new methods to answer fundamental biological questions, in cell cultures, model organisms, the human proteome and population cohorts, integrating genetic variants or transcripts with protein abundance, gene expression with protein synthesis, and metabolomics data with text mining and computational chemistry. Dr. Palmblad serves on the HUPO Council and the Editorial Board of the Journal of Proteome Research.
Prof. Joanna McGouran
Trinity College Dublin
Prof. Joanna McGouran is an Associate Professor in Translational Organic Chemistry in Trinity College Dublin. Joanna obtained her degree and PhD in Chemistry from the University of Oxford, where she also gained postdoctoral experience in medicine and chemical biology. Research in her group focuses on bio-molecule modification to create new tools to study biological systems. The group chemically modify proteins, oligonucleotides, peptides and nucleosides to introduce new functionality and assess the biological effects of this modification. Mass spec is a key tool to study these modifications and their biological effects. The group currently has a specific focus on DNA damage repair and deubiquitinating enzymes.
Dr Dilip Rai
Teagasc
Dr. Rai is a senior researcher in Teagasc. He leads research in the characterisation of bioactive molecules extracted from terrestrial plant and marine sources. Prior to Teagasc, he did his post-doctoral research in UCD School of Chemistry where he is an adjunct assistant professor. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Foods and Exploration of Food and Foodomics, and has been a Guest Editor in the journal "Molecules". He has served as a member of the management committee of the EU COST Action FA1403 POSITIVe and a member of Public Health Nutrition sub-committee under the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.
Prof. Robert Graham
Queens University Belfast
Professor Grahams research sits at the interface of genomics, chemical biology and biomedical science. He has a long standing track record working on biomarkers. His expertise is in mass spectrometry based proteomics He was recruited to Queens University Belfast in 2018 from the University of Manchester, where he worked for 6 years. Prior to that Prof. Graham had spent four years at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) At Queens he was Co- Lead for N. Ireland for the delivery of the National COVID-19 testing strategy to develop mass spectrometry as a viable solution for COVID-19 diagnostics.
Dr. Elizabeth Want
Imperial College London
Elizabeth is a Reader in Clinical Mass Spectrometry and Head of the Section of Bioanalytical Chemistry in the Division of Systems Medicine, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction. She joined Imperial College in 2006 after working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA. At Imperial College, I was initially a postdoctoral researcher for the Consortium for Metabonomic Toxicology (COMET) group. I am also the Director of the Imperial International Phenome Training Centre which runs several hands-on courses in Metabolomics every year.
Dr. Thomas Miller
Brunel University London
As an interdisciplinary scientist with a background in biology and analytical chemistry, my research interests are focussed on the impact of chemicals in the environment and the interaction this chemical stress has with other environmental stressors. My expertise lies in small molecule mass spectrometry to determine chemicals found in the environment (especially in wildlife) and to determine biomarkers and pathways associated with adverse effects in exposed organisms. I am also interested in the integration of artificial intelligence within environmental toxicology to support and solve different environmental challenges.
Dr. Karl Smith
Leibniz Institute for Analytical Sciences
Dr. Karl Smith obtained his PhD of biological mass spectrometry at Ulster University in 2020, studying the effects of vitamin D on steroid metabolism in prostate cancer using mass spectrometry techniques. He then started his first postdoc position at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) at Florida State University, USA to implement MALDI imaging with the 21 Tesla FT-ICR mass spectrometer. After two years in USA, he moved to Germany to join ISAS (Leibniz Institute for Analytical Sciences) in Dortmund, Germany where he started as a postdoc in Spatial Metabolomics and now heads the group since 2024. He mainly studies the implementation and development of metabolism and spatial-omics techniques to be applied to tumour biology and cardiac diseases.
Dr. Corentin Beaumal
NIBRT
Dr. Corentin Beaumal is a Research Scientist at the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) in Dublin, Ireland. He earned his Master's Degree in Analytical Sciences from the University of Strasbourg, France, in 2020. Following this, he completed his PhD at the BioOrganic Mass Spectrometry Lab (LSMBO) in Strasbourg, where he developed innovative mass spectrometry-based strategies for characterizing therapeutic proteins and their impurities. In 2024, Dr. Corentin Beaumal joined the Characterisation and Comparability Lab at NIBRT. His research focuses on developing and applying mass spectrometry methodologies to characterize new biotherapeutic molecules, including fusion proteins and adeno-associated viruses.
Sinead McDonald
Fitz Scientific
Sinéad McDonald is a Scientific Officer at Fitz Scientific, with over seven years of experience in research and development. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Analytical Science from Dublin City University (DCU). Sinéad specialises in developing innovative testing methods in environmental and food technology and regularly reviews international best practices to ensure cutting-edge, compliant solutions. Her work supports Fitz Scientific’s mission to deliver accurate, reliable, and forward-thinking analytical services.