DKK 50 million for further development of world-leading mass spectrometry research and new protein studies

Over the past 25 years, Professor Jesper Velgaard Olsen has focussed on developing new mass spectrometry methods.

Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique which i.a. can be used to analyse thousands of proteins in cells and tissue. Over the years, it has led to breakthroughs in knowledge and treatment of i.a. cancer and lifestyle diseases.

Jesper Velgaard Olsen, who is Deputy Head of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research (CPR) at the University of Copenhagen, stresses that mass spectrometry is a unique method for molecular analysis.

“It enables us to weight individual molecules, to identify and quantify the proteins present in a cell, and to analyse several cells at once. It enables us to understand how the protein composition changes from cell to cell depending on the cell state and treatment,” Jesper Velgaard Olsen explains.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation Laureate Research Grant will enable Jesper Velgaard Olsen to continue his research and increase his focus on single cells. The goal is to pave the way for new, more targeted drugs.

“In the past, we were only able to analyse populations of cells. However, new, sophisticated methods allow us to study single cells and how protein compositions vary from cell to cell. It is a unique opportunity to study variations between cells. What is special about mass spectrometry is the fact that it enables us to analyse protein modifications and thus determine how active the proteins – e.g. the enzymes – in a given cell are at a particular point in time,” he says.

This is important, because the cell depends on active enzymes to function properly. However, they can also be overactive, which is often what happens in cancer, and in this case, we want to be able to turn the cell off, so to speak.

More effective and personalised treatment

Initially, Jesper Velgaard Olsen and his research group will focus on fundamental research in order to learn what actually happens inside the cell.

“Previously, we only had knowledge of the average protein activity of cells. Therefore, we do not know whether all cells have the same protein activity. And this is important if we want to outline interactions inside and between cells,” Jesper Velgaard Olsen explains.

In the long run, this knowledge can help pave the way for new, more targeted drugs, he explains:

“Unlike tissue samples which contain a lot of different cell types, the new methods will enable us to describe how individual cells respond in different diseases. Single-cell proteomics analysis can tell us which groups of cells are overactive in which patients and design drugs specifically for them. Because patients respond differently to the same disease.”

Since 2009, Jesper Velgaard Olsen has focussed on developing new mass spectrometry and proteomics methods at CPR. The Novo Nordisk Foundation Laureate Research Grant enables him to continue his research when the CPR centre funding runs out in 2026. When it does, he will relocate to the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (ICMM) at the University of Copenhagen.

Professor and Head of Department at ICMM Eva Hoffmann was pleased to hear that Jesper Velgaard Olsen will be able to continue his research and strengthen ICMM, contributing knowledge and expertise in mass spectrometry and proteomics.

“We are proud to be able to welcome such world-leading research to the department and to hopefully help generate even more knowledge of proteins and protein modifications using mass spectrometry,” Eva Hoffmann says.

Contact
Professor Jesper Velgaard Olsen
jesper.olsen@cpr.ku.dk
+45 24 42 59 56

Journalist Sascha Kael Rasmussen
sascha.kael.rasmussen@sund.ku.dk
+45 93 56 51 68