Alexander Makarov
The Power List 2013
Alexander Makarov
Director of Research, Life Science Mass Spectrometry, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Bremen, Germany
Highlight: “I am known for being the inventor of the Orbitrap mass analyzer, which allowed the introduction of high-resolution, high mass accuracy MS into thousands of laboratories around the world. Orbitrap-based instruments have revolutionized proteomic research and enabled significant progress in screening, toxicology and forensic analysis.”
Main motivation: “The desire to make the very high performance of large, difficult-to-use mass spectrometers available to all analytical labs – not only high-end research but also routine labs. This could only be achieved by using different physical principles – and that resulted in the novel ion optics of the Orbitrap analyzer.”
Future aspirations: “I want to make MS as extensively used as optical spectrometry and apply it to as wide variety of analyses as possible. My dream is to have an Orbitrap-based MS in every major hospital and clinic to enable more reliable, more sensitive and faster disease diagnostics.”
