Research institutes
M4I Division of Imaging Mass Spectrometry
Developing and applying state-of-the-art mass spectrometry based molecular imaging approaches for nanomedicine and biomedical research, including mass spectrometry as a diagnostic and prognostic tool for personalized medicine in oncology, neurology and cardiovascular medicine.
Fast facts
- biomedical cellular and tissue research
- division of Imaging Mass Spectrometry, led by Prof. Ron M.A. Heeren
- translates molecular insights into clinical solutions
- works towards the molecular operating room
- focuses on Collaborative Open Research Education (CORE)
News
-
Technical feats at 180 degrees below zero
Thursday, April 4, 2019Read moreFrank Nijpels is working on the Vitrojet, a new device that prepares samples for a form of electron microscopy that received the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
-
Healthier crops through DNA modification
Friday, March 29, 2019Read moreIt’s a major step forward on the road to sustainable agriculture and healthy food.
-
Helping surgeons and pathologists with the iKnife
Thursday, March 21, 2019Read moreResearchers from the Maastricht M4I institute, led by Prof. Ron Heeren, are key partners in an international consortium that will validate the iKnife.
-
Vitrojet, indispensable for electron microscopes
Friday, November 2, 2018Thanks to cryo-electron microscopy, scientists can see inside cells, all the way down to the molecular level. This revolution makes it possible to analyze the precise composition of the many thousands of proteins. It might also reveal the mysteries of how diseases such as Alzheimer’s or tuberculosis develop.
Read more -
Maastricht University and Avans University of Applied Sciences awarded €250,000 for forensic study of hair
Friday, July 6, 2018Researchers at Maastricht University (UM) and Avans University of Applied Sciences are developing a method that enables person profiling on the basis of hair.
Read more -
Maastricht technology makes simultaneous lipid imaging and identification possible
Thursday, May 24, 2018Scientists from Maastricht University (UM) and researchers from Denmark and Germany have developed a new technique to accurately determine both the location and identity of lipids in bodily tissues in a single workflow. Lipids are essential molecules in every cell of our body and intimately involved in many important biological functions.
Read more -
Maastricht University is a linchpin in national microscopy research
Thursday, April 12, 2018The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) is allocating more than 17 million euros in subsidies for the further development of a Dutch network for electron microscopy (NEMI). Almost 5 million of this will go to UM. From Maastricht, the M4I institute of university professors Ron Heeren (mass spectrometry) and Peter Peters (cryo-electron microscopy) is one of the initiators of NEMI.
Read more -
First workshop on Mass Spectrometry Imaging organised by M4i
Friday, December 8, 2017From November 13-17th, 2017 M4i organised its first workshop dedicated to Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MSI).
Read more -
International MSI conference OurCon organised by M4i
Friday, November 10, 2017Three PhD students from Maastricht University's M4I took the lead in bringing the fifth edition of the OurCon mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) to the Netherlands.
Read more -
M4i research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
Tuesday, November 7, 2017Research into the influence of lipids on the severity of a bacterial infection in a mammalian host published in PNAS.
Read more
Research
The M4I Division of Imaging Mass Spectrometry is one of the world leaders in high resolution molecular imaging of biological surfaces. The division targets the development and application of state-of-the-art mass spectrometry based molecular imaging approaches for biomedical cellular and tissue research. Main research aim for the coming years is to develop and apply mass spectrometry as a diagnostic and prognostic tool for personalized medicine.
Education
M4I’s scientists will be involved in teaching at a bachelor's, master's and PhD level, within the University College Maastricht, the Maastricht Science Programme and various programmes within the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences and the Faculty of Science and Engineering.
The New Dawn of Cancer Surgery |
Ron Heeren | TEDxMaastricht Nov 3, 2016
Pioneer prof. dr. Ron Heeren, University professor at Maastricht University and key player in the Top Research Institute M4I (Maastricht MultiModal Molecular Imaging Institute) is at the forefront of technological breakthroughs in oncology, neurology and cardiovascular medicine. Heeren’s team is developing biomedical applications of Mass Spectroscopy Imaging (MSI), or in other words techniques to photograph molecules.
Ron Heeren
“To try to understand biomolecules is to try to understand the complexity of life. It’s a puzzle that makes putting a radio together pale in comparison.”
Benjamin Balluff
“Imaging mass spectrometry produces huge and complex amount of data; giving sense to that data is what drives me.”
New M4I office wing
A new M4I office wing with the same open and transparent look and feel will be realised now. Based on C.O.R.E. collaborative open research education. C.O.R.E. requires a transparent and open environment for both laboratories and offices.
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Google+
Forward
Tumblr
del.icio.us
Digg
StumbleUpon
Reddit