Markus R. Wenk | |
---|---|
Born | December 24, 1969 |
Nationality | Swiss |
Occupation(s) | Biochemist and academic |
Academic background | |
Education | Diploma., Biology PhD., Biophysics |
Alma mater | University of Basel Biozentrum University of Basel |
Academic work | |
Institutions | National University of Singapore Hamad Bin Khalifa University |
Markus R. Wenk is a Swiss biochemist and academic. He is Dean of the College of Health and Life Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. [1]
Wenk's research focuses on the structure and function of membranes,the metabolism of lipids,the advancement of lipidomics,and incorporating precise molecular analysis into medical research for personalized health. [2] He is the recipient of awards including the Young Researcher Award (2009) and the Research Recognition Award (2019) from the National University of Singapore, [3] as well as the European Lipid Science Award from the European Federation for the Science and Technology of Lipids in 2018. [4]
Wenk served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopaedia in Lipidomics in 2013 and the Executive Editor of Progress in Lipid Research from 2011 to 2023.
Wenk earned a Diploma in Biology from the University of Basel in 1994,followed by a PhD in Biophysics from the Biozentrum University of Basel in 1997. [1]
Wenk began his academic career as a Postdoctoral Associate at the Yale University School of Medicine from 1997 to 2000,subsequently becoming Associate Research Scientist (2000–2003). In 2004,he joined the National University of Singapore,initially as an assistant professor,and was later appointed associate professor in 2007 and Full Professor in the Department of Biochemistry in 2016. He has been serving as the Visiting Toh Chin Chye Professor at NUS since 2023 and a visiting professor at ETH Zürich in 2024. [5]
Wenk founded and directed the Singapore Lipidomics Incubator (SLING) and the international Singapore Lipid Symposium (iSLS) at NUS from 2010 to 2023,focusing on innovation,education,and collaboration in lipid research. [6] In 2016,he was appointed Provost's Chair at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine as well as the Head of the Department of Biochemistry. [7] He served as the Director of the NUS Precision Medicine Translational Research Program from 2020 to 2023,before joining Hamad Bin Khalifa University,where he holds the position of Dean of the College of Health Sciences. [1]
Wenk is most known for his contributions and achievements in the field of lipid science,in particular for the development of lipidomics methods based on mass spectrometry. [2] In a highly cited review article,he underscored lipids' critical role in health and disease and noted that new techniques in lipidomics are advancing the field,offering potential for drug and biomarker development. [8] His research introduced mass spectrometric assays for directly measuring phospholipids in complex lipid mixtures,enabling qualitative and quantitative profiling of lipids and their fatty acid compositions. [9] [10]
Wenk and his team at SLING have contributed to many basic science and clinical research projects. Alongside colleagues,he analyzed 80 sphingolipids in 2,300 Chinese Singaporeans,finding that metabolic imbalances in sphingolipids,rather than their accumulation or depletion,are linked to BMI,insulin resistance,and Type-2 diabetes. [11] Furthermore,looking into the natural variations of lipids in healthy subjects,he revealed that about 15% of lipid metabolites show circadian variations and significant inter-subject differences,indicating diverse circadian metabolic phenotypes in the population. [12] Lipidomic characterization of complex extracts by his team helped identify substrates of orphan transports Mfsd2a and Mfsd2b,linking them to microcephaly and sphingosine-1-phosphate export in blood cells. [13] [14]
In 2017,Wenk launched the creation of a network of collaborating laboratories worldwide [15] to address lipid quantitation challenges [16] [17] and showed that shared reference materials can harmonize mass-spectrometry lipidomics of human plasma across different platforms and labs. [18] He coordinated a ring trial for distinct ceramides in human plasma. It led to concordant concentration values of ceramides in human plasma reference materials via the use of authentic standards. [19]
Lipids are a broad group of organic compounds which include fats,waxes,sterols,fat-soluble vitamins,monoglycerides,diglycerides,phospholipids,and others. The functions of lipids include storing energy,signaling,and acting as structural components of cell membranes. Lipids have applications in the cosmetic and food industries,and in nanotechnology.
Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is a disease linked to the X chromosome. It is a result of fatty acid buildup caused by failure of peroxisomal fatty acid beta oxidation which results in the accumulation of very long chain fatty acids in tissues throughout the body. The most severely affected tissues are the myelin in the central nervous system,the adrenal cortex,and the Leydig cells in the testes. The long chain fatty acid buildup causes damage to the myelin sheath of the neurons of the brain,resulting in seizures and hyperactivity. Other symptoms include problems in speaking,listening,and understanding verbal instructions.
Anandamide (ANA),also referred to as N-arachidonoylethanolamine (AEA) is a fatty acid neurotransmitter belonging to the fatty acid derivative group known as N-Acylethanolamine (NAE). Anandamide takes its name from the Sanskrit word ananda,meaning "joy,bliss,delight," plus amide. Anandamide,the first discovered endocannabinoid,engages with the body's endocannabinoid system by binding to the same cannabinoid receptors that THC found in cannabis acts on. Anandamide can be found within tissues in a wide range of animals. It has also been found in plants,such as the cacao tree.
Lipidomics is the large-scale study of pathways and networks of cellular lipids in biological systems. The word "lipidome" is used to describe the complete lipid profile within a cell,tissue,organism,or ecosystem and is a subset of the "metabolome" which also includes other major classes of biological molecules. Lipidomics is a relatively recent research field that has been driven by rapid advances in technologies such as mass spectrometry (MS),nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy,fluorescence spectroscopy,dual polarisation interferometry and computational methods,coupled with the recognition of the role of lipids in many metabolic diseases such as obesity,atherosclerosis,stroke,hypertension and diabetes. This rapidly expanding field complements the huge progress made in genomics and proteomics,all of which constitute the family of systems biology.
Metabolomics is the scientific study of chemical processes involving metabolites,the small molecule substrates,intermediates,and products of cell metabolism. Specifically,metabolomics is the "systematic study of the unique chemical fingerprints that specific cellular processes leave behind",the study of their small-molecule metabolite profiles. The metabolome represents the complete set of metabolites in a biological cell,tissue,organ,or organism,which are the end products of cellular processes. Messenger RNA (mRNA),gene expression data,and proteomic analyses reveal the set of gene products being produced in the cell,data that represents one aspect of cellular function. Conversely,metabolic profiling can give an instantaneous snapshot of the physiology of that cell,and thus,metabolomics provides a direct "functional readout of the physiological state" of an organism. There are indeed quantifiable correlations between the metabolome and the other cellular ensembles,which can be used to predict metabolite abundances in biological samples from,for example mRNA abundances. One of the ultimate challenges of systems biology is to integrate metabolomics with all other -omics information to provide a better understanding of cellular biology.
Glycerophospholipids or phosphoglycerides are glycerol-based phospholipids. They are the main component of biological membranes in eukaryotic cells. They are a type of lipid,of which its composition affects membrane structure and properties. Two major classes are known:those for bacteria and eukaryotes and a separate family for archaea.
Fumonisin B1 is the most prevalent member of a family of toxins,known as fumonisins,produced by multiple species of Fusarium molds,such as Fusarium verticillioides,which occur mainly in maize (corn),wheat and other cereals. Fumonisin B1 contamination of maize has been reported worldwide at mg/kg levels. Human exposure occurs at levels of micrograms to milligrams per day and is greatest in regions where maize products are the dietary staple.
Ceramides are a family of waxy lipid molecules. A ceramide is composed of sphingosine and a fatty acid joined by an amide bond. Ceramides are found in high concentrations within the cell membrane of eukaryotic cells,since they are component lipids that make up sphingomyelin,one of the major lipids in the lipid bilayer. Contrary to previous assumptions that ceramides and other sphingolipids found in cell membrane were purely supporting structural elements,ceramide can participate in a variety of cellular signaling:examples include regulating differentiation,proliferation,and programmed cell death (PCD) of cells.
Biomarker discovery is a medical term describing the process by which biomarkers are discovered. Many commonly used blood tests in medicine are biomarkers. There is interest in biomarker discovery on the part of the pharmaceutical industry;blood-test or other biomarkers could serve as intermediate markers of disease in clinical trials,and as possible drug targets.
The lipidome refers to the totality of lipids in cells. Lipids are one of the four major molecular components of biological organisms,along with proteins,sugars and nucleic acids. Lipidome is a term coined in the context of omics in modern biology,within the field of lipidomics. It can be studied using mass spectrometry and bioinformatics as well as traditional lab-based methods. The lipidome of a cell can be subdivided into the membrane-lipidome and mediator-lipidome.
Stearoyl-CoA desaturase is an endoplasmic reticulum enzyme that catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the formation of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs),specifically oleate and palmitoleate from stearoyl-CoA and palmitoyl-CoA. Oleate and palmitoleate are major components of membrane phospholipids,cholesterol esters and alkyl-diacylglycerol. In humans,the enzyme is present in two isoforms,encoded respectively by the SCD1 and SCD5 genes.
FABP1 is a human gene coding for the protein product FABP1. It is also frequently known as liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (LFABP).
Long-chain fatty acid transport protein 1 (FATP1) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SLC27A1 gene.
Lysophosphatidylcholines,also called lysolecithins,are a class of chemical compounds which are derived from phosphatidylcholines.
Acyl-CoA synthetase family member 3 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ACSF3 gene.
1-Lysophosphatidylcholines are a class of phospholipids that are intermediates in the metabolism of lipids. They result from the hydrolysis of an acyl group from the sn-1 position of phosphatidylcholine. They are also called 2-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholines. The synthesis of phosphatidylcholines with specific fatty acids occurs through the synthesis of 1-lysoPC. The formation of various other lipids generates 1-lysoPC as a by-product.
The 1-deoxysphingolipids (1-deoxySLs) are an atypical and recently discovered class of sphingolipids (SLs). They are formed during the nove synthesis pathway and their essential C1-OH deficit causes the malfunctions of the following transformations to achieve complex sphingolipids. In general,sphingolipids are formed during a reaction that is catalyzed by the SPT enzyme (serine-palmitoyltransferase) where the condensation of serine and palmitoyl-CoA takes place. The origin of this rare sphingolipid,though,is due to a defect of the SPT which can also use alanine or glycine. This change is what forms the 1-deoxySL.
LIPID MAPS is a web portal designed to be a gateway to Lipidomics resources. The resource has spearheaded a classification of biological lipids,dividing them into eight general categories. LIPID MAPS provides standardised methodologies for mass spectrometry analysis of lipids,e.g.
Antonio Vidal-Puig is a Spanish medical doctor and scientist who works as a Professor of Molecular Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Cambridge (UK),best known for advancing the concept that pharmacological targeting of brown fat may serve to treat overweight and obesity in affected individuals,as well as for introducing the concept of adipose tissue "expandability" as an important factor in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance in the context of positive energy balance. His published work focuses on areas such as adipose tissue metabolism and lipotoxicity,regulation of insulin secretion, and the pathophysiology of metabolic syndrome,obesity,and type 2 diabetes. In April 2024,he was granted the rank of doctor honoris causa from the King Juan Carlos University,Madrid.
In archaeology,Organic Residue Analysis (ORA) refers to the study of micro-remains trapped in or adhered to artifacts from the past. These organic residues can include lipids,proteins,starches,and sugars. By analyzing these residues,ORA can reveal insights into ancient dietary behaviors,agricultural practices,housing organization,technological advancements,and trade interactions. Furthermore,it provides information on the use of cosmetics,arts,crafts,medicine,and burial preparations in ancient societies.