My postdoctoral life, which I described in detail via a series of blog posts, started with a move from the University of Groningen to the University of Geneva which was more than just a change of scenery. I also changed research topic, and this change was multifaceted. Firstly, I moved from studying large molecules (e.g. proteins) to small molecules (e.g. sugars, lipids), which are two major classes of compounds that can be studied in our field (with each having its own challenges). Secondly, I changed from targeted analyses (you see what you measure) to untargeted analyses (you measure what you see), which are roughly the two types of analyses that can be distinguished in our field (with, of course, each having its own challenges). Thirdly, I spent fewer days on the lab doing experiments and more days behind the computer processing data and looking for trends and patterns of particular analytical and clinical relevance.
When I initially started preparing for my post-PhD life, I drafted a kind of wish-list in my head for the lab I wanted to join. This list was not very long, and the common denominator for the entries on the list was a strong emphasis on learning potential. Alternatively, I could put a strong emphasis on my CV by applying for a position in the research group of an hors catégorie professor in my field. However, such groups are often rather big, and contact time with the professor may be limited in consequence. At that time, I reasoned that contact time and learning potential were closely connected and, accordingly, that a smaller group would be better suited for me.
Finding my first postdoctoral challenge was more like falling in love than making an educated decision. Still, I am glad that I ended up in a very good place in terms of group size and supervisor excellence. With regard to the group, it consisted of 2 MSc students, 6 PhD students, 1 postdoc, 2 technicians, and 1 professor when I arrived in Geneva. The group was thus neither small nor big. With regard to my supervisor, Prof. Gérard Hopfgartner, he has been a highly influential person in the field of analytical sciences and it was an absolute honor for me to join his group.
Regarding my activities in the Hopfgartner group, I focused on untargeted (you measure what you see) analytical workflows to obtain a kind of profile of small-molecule compounds (e.g. sugars, lipids) in human samples like urine and blood. While most researchers in our field are interested in profiling compounds that are formed within the human body, the so-called metabolites, I was particularly interested in compounds that originate from outside the human body, the so-called xenobiotics. Well-known examples of xenobiotics are drugs and pesticides, which can often be measured in human samples, as has been done for decades. Small-molecule compounds that are present in food can end up in human samples as well, and measuring them may give interesting insights into a person’s health status while potentially also into its lifestyle habits.
Quite some work has already been done on the latter topic in recent years, but there are still numerous unexplored areas left which I started exploring upon my arrival in Geneva. For example, I investigated strategies to enhance the detection of xenobiotics in human samples, considering that chemical exposures can be either chronic or intermittent. Additionally, I focused on differentiating closely related exposures, such as different formulations of therapeutic drugs or variations in illicit drug preparations (containing different cutting agents). And from a more clinically relevant perspective, I worked on extracting information about therapeutic drug use from increasingly large datasets, initially focusing on determining the presence or absence of particular drugs and later delving into trend and pattern identification among users of specific drugs.
As my research interests evolved, my translational ambitions became increasingly clear. I was no longer solely focused on developing and applying innovative analytical methods. Instead, I aimed to extract as much meaningful information as possible from the corresponding data, with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes. This shift furthermore brought me closer to the field of pharmacoepidemiology, which evaluates the use, benefits, and risks of medical products and interventions in human populations.
At the same time, I found myself shaping a research profile that aligned well with a tenure-track position introduced by my former institute in Groningen in 2021. This role offered an early-career researcher the opportunity to begin as an assistant professor, with a pathway to becoming a full professor in personalized pharmacotherapy. And after applying, I was honored to be selected, enabling me to return to Groningen and establish my own research group.
In the following years, I spent quite some time on setting up my own group, but I also dedicated a substantial amount of time to becoming an accredited University teacher, to giving lectures, and to coordinating and setting up courses. By moving back to the Netherlands, I also moved back in with my partner, and our household expanded even further one year later following the birth of our son Julius. The little one arrived just in time to meet my mother and his grandmother, who unfortunately breathed her final breath eight days later. Both these life events had an enormous impact on my professional life, notably forcing me to consider adopting a healthy work-life balance. The latter has somewhat been realized by the end of 2024, which feels like a natural ending to my postdoctoral transition phase. Additionally, it feels like the perfect start of the next phase in my academic career which, from now on, will be oriented towards achieving clinical and societal impact as well as to teaching and inspiring talented researchers and future health care professionals.
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