Research
Roy and his research group have extensive experience in MS-based metabolomics, Raman spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), as well as advanced multivariate data analysis. These are being developed for:
- (i) health, disease and ageing;
- (ii) bacterial detection and AMR;
- (iii) food security using portable capable guardians;
- (iv) imaging tissue and single cells.
Highlights:
Our research team have developed and established long-term metabolomics which allows fusion of GC-MS and LC-MS data collected over 12-24 months. This approach is based on mathematical corrections which effectively removes any (unavoidable) chromatographic and mass spectrometry instrumental drift. This has now been taken up widely by the community, hence why our Nature Protocols paper is very highly cited (>2500 times), and we have used this for large scale (n=2000) metabolic profiling studies published in Nature Communications.
Standardisation in Metabolomics is important and Roy was the data analysis lead for the Metabolomics Standards Initiative. Important community outputs include:
- standards for naming metabolites a highly rated paper (>4000 citations) published in Metabolomics.
- guidelines for reporting data processing also published in Metabolomics.
- global community efforts for standardisation in quality assurance and quality control in non-targeted metabolomics - MQACC.
- evaluation of the quality and reliability of targeted metabolomics assays from the UK Consortium on Metabolic Phenotyping (MAP/UK) published in Nature Protocols.
In order to understand metabolic flux on a single cell level (i.e., with respect to substrate use in bacterial communities) we are also developing high spatial resolution (0.5 µm is typical) photothermal infrared, Raman, SRS and CARS imaging. As well as for probing heterogeneity in Bacillus populations producing poly-3-hydroxybutyrate a paper published recently in Analytical Chemistry.
We are also active in surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and were the first group to demonstrate that this can be used for the discrimination of bacteria - see our early paper published in Analytical Chemistry. If you're interested in SERS please read our community review published in ACS Nano on the Present and Future of SERS.
The images below highlight areas of our research.
Metabolomics
Raman spectroscopy
Chemometrics
Research grants
Development of in situ Raman spectroscopy methods and instrumentation for monitoring industrial bioprocesses
RENISHAW PLC (UK)
October 2023 - September 2027
NovaseqX at Centre for Genomics Research
BIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL
August 2023 - July 2024
Bench Fees for Jamilah Mohammed D Alshehri (201534553)
KING SAUD UNIVERSITY (SAUDI ARABIA)
May 2022 - April 2026
NERC Environmental Omics Facility (Renewal)
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL
April 2024 - March 2031
The therapeutic potential of targeting bioactive lipids in filariasis
MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
August 2022 - July 2027
ALERT 2021 - Ultra-high-throughput mass spectrometry for quantitative metabolomics
BIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL
August 2022 - July 2023
µPADs On Call: Out of Hours Disease Monitoring and Early Diagnosis
ENGINEERING & PHYSICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL
February 2021 - August 2024
Cutting Edge Analytical Solutions for Smart, Integrated, Efficient Biopharmaceutical Production
ENGINEERING & PHYSICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL
July 2022 - June 2025
Acceptable and efficient early screening tests for endometrial cancer (AESTEC) Study
NORTH WEST CANCER RESEARCH INCORPORATING CLATTERBRIDGE CANCER RESEARCH (UK)
November 2021 - November 2022
UK Consortium for MetAbolic Phenotyping (MAP UK)
MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
June 2019 - May 2024
Developing Functional Serum Diagnostics for Early Diagnosis and Stratification of Glioma and Glioblastoma
CANCER RESEARCH UK (UK)
October 2019 - November 2023
Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy point-of-care testing for the detection of sepsis pathogens
CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES RESEARCH (UK)
September 2019 - June 2021