Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands
Thomas Hankemeier is full professor of Analytical BioSciences at the LACDR, Leiden University, since 2004. His research focusses on the development of innovative analytical tools and strategies for metabolomics-driven systems biology and pharmacology. He developed novel sample preparation and metabolomics methods, and used micro/nano-technology to miniaturized metabolomics. He has established the Biomedical Metabolomics Facility Leiden (www.bmfl.nl). In collaboration with clinicians, biomedical researchers, biostatisticians and other –omics researchers he has discovered biomarkers for (early) diagnosis and prediction of interventions for (cardio)vascular and metabolic diseases and neurological diseases. He has developed a microfluidic 3D cell culture platform allowing 40 and more individual cell cultures (blood vessels, gut tubes, neuronal co-cultures, and more) with organotypic functionality in a 384-well microtiter plate format. He is principal investigator/co-leader of various international and national projects and consortia. He is Medical Delta Professor of Translational Epidemiology at the Department of Epidemiology at Erasmus University Medical Centre. He is the Scientific Director of the Netherlands Metabolomics Centre ( www.metabolomicscentre.nl). He is co-founder of MIMETAS, the worldwide first organ-on-a-chip company. He has published over 220 scientific papers and graduated more than 15 PhD students. Specialities: metabolomics, lipidomics, analytical chemistry, microfluidics, translational drug research.
I believe in the potential of exosomes for biomarker discovery and drug research. Together with Yuliya Shakalisava we started EXIT071, a Leiden based startup for pioneering technology for the enrichment and fractionation of exosomes for biomarker analysis analysis and drug research.
I believe in the power of improved humanized in-vitro systems, in which we can implement patient derived cells. Together with Paul Vulto, Jos Joore and Bas Trietsch we therefore started MIMETAS as a spin-off company of my university group. We are developing and validating organ-on-a-chip models for pharma and clinical research which are ideally suited for high throughput testing and screening.
As I am convinced that collaboration is key to make metabolomics an important tool in personal health strategies, I initiated the Netherlands Metabolomics Center (www.metabolomicscentre.nl), and together with the Research Committee I am responsible for the scientific programme.
In my research I aim to develop innovative analytical strategies for metabolomics-driven systems biology in personalized health strategies. I focus on improving multi-dimensional separation methods hyphenated to mass spectrometry, miniaturizing sampling and sample preparation and using lab-on-a-chip approaches. I am convinced that personalized medicine can only be achieved in good collaborations with clinicians, biomedical researchers, biostatisticians and other –omics researchers. I want to achieve better (early) diagnosis and interventions for mainly (cardio)vascular, metabolic and CNS diseases (for more details, visit www.analyticalbiosciences.nl).