Fiona Greer

Meet Fiona Greer

Passion
“I was always attracted to the investigative nature of analytical science – hence I studied Forensic Science at University. I was lucky to become involved with mass spectrometry – the ‘big-hitter’ of analytical tools. Exploring methods of interrogating glycoprotein structure is a particular focus. I’m also passionate about passing on the knowledge I’ve gained over the past 30 years to the next generation of analytical scientists.”

Pivotal moment
“A pivotal moment came early in my career, when I joined a small start-up company exploiting the then novel technique of fast ion bombardment mass spectrometry to sequence proteins and carbohydrates. In addition to developing the methods on new types of instruments, I was working to apply them to structural problems with colleagues in the emerging biotech industry. It was an exciting time to be developing new analytical technologies.”

Predictions
“Two of the major modern-day health crises, antibiotic resistance and diabetes should be given more priority. These are global challenges and so the major pharma companies should be leading the way. In my field, the potential for miniaturization of mass specs could lead to their use in the surgery for rapid and accurate diagnosis.”