DrElizabeth Want

I am 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. I 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.

Research Interests
I have >25 yrs of experience in mass spectrometry and chromatographic techniques and have spent the past 20 years working in the field of mass spectrometry-based metabolite profiling. My research aims to improve molecular assays for clinical studies, through the measurement of small molecules, lipids and proteins, ultimately leading to deeper understanding of diseases, improved healthcare and better patient outcomes. I focus primarily on the development and application of novel mass spectrometry (MS) based techniques for metabolic phenotyping and on the fusion of mass spectrometric methods with chemometric analysis, which is currently a significant bottleneck in the analysis pipeline. I have led the development, optimisation and application of UPLC-MS methodologies for the analysis of biological samples, e.g. serum, urine, tissue, amniotic fluid, and microdialysates. These developmental advances have resulted in shorter analysis times - and therefore higher sample throughput - key for large scale metabolic phenotyping studies. Peak detection and analytical reproducibility have been enhanced, improving metabolome coverage and the potential for biomarker identification and quantification. I am applying these methods to biomedical research areas including burn injury, brain tumours and neurological diseases.