Adelina E Acosta Martin

I have joined the University of Sheffield in 2016 as manager of the biOMICS Biological Mass Spectrometry Facility for proteomics applications. In the facility, scientists have access to our instruments and services for the study of proteins. So, if there are proteins involved in what they are studying, there are high chances that mass spectrometry could be useful to them!

My role is very diverse. I lead and am responsible for all the activities that take place in and are necessary for the appropriate function of the facility. There are always lots to do! I have many interactions with users before, during, and after they come to the facility. I also contribute to grant applications and to the publication of manuscripts.

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I am a people’s person and what I like most about my role is the opportunity to work with others, to be part of a team and see how problems are solved in a supportive and collaborative way.

Dr Adelina E Acosta Martin

Mass Spectrometry Senior Technical Specialist in the School of Biosciences

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My job also involved educational activities. Together with my colleagues of the Mass Spectrometry Centre, I teach in a postgraduate DDP course on mass spectrometry. My colleague Dr Heather Walker and I lead the development of online teaching resources through our own Blackboard site, and whenever possible, I like to be part of outreach opportunities.

I am a chemist by degree and despite I have never worked as a chemist, I still see the world through the eyes of chemistry. After I graduated in 2005 (Instituto Químico de Sarriá, Spain), I started an international scientific journey strongly defined by the application of mass spectrometry and proteomics to different areas of biomedical and clinical research.

The research that I carried out as part of my MSc, my PhD and the subsequent postdocs was very diverse but had in common the use of mass spectrometry to solve different questions, which gave me the perfect background to become a facility manager. The diversity of samples that we process in the facility is remarkable. We analyse specimens as part of archaeological studies, the understanding of plant adaptation to climate conditions, the study of microbes involved in health and disease, clinical and biomedical research, engineering projects or cosmetic products. I still don’t understand the biological background of many projects, but it is through a collaborative and efficient communication manner that I understand what is needed to support other researchers.

I am a people’s person and what I like most about my role is the opportunity to work with others, to be part of a team and see how problems are solved in a supportive and collaborative way. I can see how I am often able to motivate others while working together and it is extremely rewarding. I particularly enjoy working with the students. Sheffield has an extraordinary cohort of national and international postgraduate students. While training them in proteomics and helping them with their experiments, they take me to places where I have never been. I also feel that they are very grateful for my support and help, so a day spent with a student is a day well spent! I deeply believe that they deserve the best. They are our future, and I want to make them feel confident about the skills that they have acquired with us, not just the technical skills, but also the mindset. Proteomics is an unbiased approach to biological research, one that offers the opportunity to be open to a more global perspective and to the unexpected.

Furthermore, I really enjoy working with my colleagues from the Mass Spectrometry Center. They are very supportive, and together we have achieved lots of wonderful projects. Lydia Kiesel, the research technician for proteomics in the facility, had a key role in supporting me to improve the service that we offer. I loved working with her, it was very synergistic and fun.

Finally, and the reason why I am in this position, I very much enjoy working with the instruments. In the facility we use chromatographic systems and mass spectrometers, which we need to maintain and sometimes even repair! It can be a very mechanical activity and sometimes it feels like doing plumbing work at a nano-scale. We also need to implement new methods and that requires a lot of rigour. I am a very organised and patient person, and I sometimes feel that these qualities have been essential to develop my job in a successful way.

I have been part of the TechNet Steering Committee for a couple of years now, and I love it. I love the work dynamics of the group and how despite all being very busy, we manage to organise great events for the technical community at the University. It is a very committed and supportive group of people, especially the Co-chairs Abbie and Mark.