On 17th April, cell biochemist Victoria Pozo Garcia received her PhD degree from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam on her thesis entitled ‘From Spectra to Pathways: Assessing Metabolic Function and Nutrient Modulation of Liver In Vitro Systems by LC-MS metabolomics’.
The research was conducted within the department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, funded by the EU project RISK-HUNT3R.
This thesis advances human in vitro liver models by enhancing the metabolic capacity of iPSC-derived hepatocyte-like cells through nutrient modulation. Using integrated LC-MS-based metabolomics (including the use of stable isotope tracers), multi-omics profiling, and computational workflows, this research highlights improvement of metabolic performance in the tested cell systems. Not only enhancement of xenobiotic metabolism (mainly through cytochrome P450 activity) was observed, but also overall improvement of mitochondrial function and bioenergetics. These findings contribute to the development of more reliable and scalable platforms in metabolic studies, including pharmaceutical testing.
The PhD committee was composed of: Emer. Prof. Dr. Nico Vermeulen (chair), Prof. Dr. Pim Leonards (A-LIFE, VU), Prof. Dr. Celia Berkers (University of Utrecht), Dr. Iain Gardner (Certara), Dr. Marije Niemeijer (Leiden University), and Prof. Dr. Martine Smit (CPS, VU); and the PhD candidate was supported by paranymphs Valentina Ferro and Fanny Beekman.
Promotor Prof. Dr. Paul Jennings, chair of the Molecular Toxicology division, handed over the diploma after the defense, and co-promotor Dr. Sofia Moco concluded the PhD ceremony with personal and grateful words.