In cooperation between the NICR and the First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, a lecture by Martin Sadílek from the University of Washington took place in Prague on November 6. The talk focused on the use of mass spectrometry in newborn screening and biomedical research.
The title of the lecture – Empowering Medical Decisions through Mass Spectrometry-Based Bioanalytical Chemistry: Newborn Screening for Inborn Errors of Metabolism – suggested that the topic would explore modern bioanalytical approaches with significant clinical impact. Dr. Sadílek, who works at the Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, USA, presented to an audience of about thirty participants the possibilities of applying cutting-edge mass spectrometry technologies in the early diagnosis of inherited metabolic disorders. He focused on the principles of simultaneous multiplex determination of diagnostic markers from a single dried blood spot and on the potential of these methods for rapid and precise identification of pathological metabolic profiles. According to Dr. Sadílek, mass spectrometry represents a new paradigm in pediatric diagnostics – shifting diagnostic strategies from symptom-based assessment toward proactive, metabolomics-driven decision-making.
Martin Sadílek was invited to Prague by Helena Kupcová Skalníková, head of the Proteomics Laboratory at the Institute of Biology and Medical Genetics, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, which is part of NÚVR. After the formal lecture, participants engaged in a lively discussion directly in the laboratory, exploring different analytical settings on the instrument.
“For us, the discussion with Martin Sadílek was extremely valuable, as he is a physical chemist who understands some of the detailed parameters of the mass spectrometer and software that we don’t usually use, yet they can significantly improve our analyses,” added Helena Kupcová Skalníková, noting that Dr. Sadílek plans to return for a two-week research stay next year, which could further strengthen the collaboration.
