Biography
Rory is a Principal Scientist working in the metrology and application of mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) within the National Centre of Excellence in Mass Spectrometry Imaging (NiCE-MSI) at NPL. His interests include MSI fundamentals, instrument and method development for improved metabolic coverage and limit-of-detection, and its use in the study of disease. He works primarily with matrix assisted laser desorption ionisation (MALDI), desorption electrospray ionisation (DESI) and laser ablation plasma post-ionisation (LA-PPI) MSI modalities, primarily for the detection of small molecule metabolites and lipids. Since 2016 he has worked as part of the NPL team leading the CRUK Rosetta Grand Challenge consortium mapping the molecular characteristics of cancer at length scales from whole organ to the sub-cellular. Additionally, he works across projects in MSI research including ion-source development, inlet temperature study in atmospheric pressure MSI and evaluation of laser parameters in laser desorption/ablation MSI. Rory was recently awarded a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship to study ion suppression in MSI with application in cancer research. Rory is a convening member of ISO TC 201/SC 6/SG2, activity leader in VAMAS TWA 2 and a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC).
Rory graduated with an MPhys degree in physics with astrophysics from the University of Manchester in 2008. He went on to study intellectual property law, obtaining a postgraduate diploma in 2009, also from the University of Manchester. From there he joined the Physical Sciences of Imaging in the Biomedical Sciences Doctoral Training Centre (PSIBS DTC) at the University of Birmingham. Within this four-year PhD programme, he obtained an MSci before going on to work under Josephine Bunch on his PhD project in MALDI MSI. This project focused on the fundamentals and method development concerning the use of a high repetition rate laser in MALDI MS and MSI studies of lipids. Rory joined NiCE-MSI at NPL in the summer of 2013.
Selected publications
- Vande Voorde, J., Steven, R.T., et al., 2023. Metabolic profiling stratifies colorectal cancer and reveals adenosylhomocysteinase as a therapeutic target. Nature Metabolism, 5(8), pp.1303-1318.
- Steven, R.T., Niehaus, M., Taylor, A.J., Nasif, A., Elia, E., Goodwin, R.J., Takats, Z. and Bunch, J., 2022. Atmospheric-pressure infrared laser-ablation plasma-postionization mass spectrometry imaging of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) and fresh-frozen tissue sections with no sample preparation. Analytical Chemistry, 94(28), pp.9970-9974.
- M.D. Metodiev, R.T. Steven, X. Loizeau, Z. Takats, J. Bunch. Modality Agnostic Model for Spatial Resolution in Mass Spectrometry Imaging: Application to MALDI MSI Data. Analytical Chemistry 93 (46), 15295-15305
- R.T. Steven, A.M. Race, and J. Bunch. Probing the Relationship Between Detected Ion Intensity, Laser Fluence, and Beam Profile in Thin Film and Tissue in MALDI MSI. Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (2016): 27: 1419. doi:10.1007/s13361-016-1414-0.
ORCID
Email Rory T Steven