University of Florida Homepage
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Yost Research Group

Robin H.J. Kemperman

Robin H.J. Kemperman

Contact Information

Email: rkemperman

About Me

I grew up in the eastside of The Netherlands, more specifically, in a small town called Duiven. As a child I was inquisitive and liked my little chemistry box including simple experimental tools as pH strips. The curiosity of science brought me to the HAN University of Applied Sciences in Nijmegen, where I started the chemistry program in 2010. I figured out quickly that analytical chemistry was my ambition, this led to a research internship of 5 months at RIKILT, an institute of the Wageningen University and Research center, where I worked for Dr. Stolker. My research included method development of veterinary drugs in plants and soil using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). I developed a strong interest in mass spectrometry, and associated sample preparation methodologies at RIKILT. Closer to the end of my Bachelor program I decided to join the Food & Pharma track, which is a combination of classes and research at the HU University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht. Under supervision of Dr. Chamorro-Perez was my research focused on phytochemical analyses using LC-MS. Whereafter I fulfilled my Bachelor’s degree overseas, to work on my graduation research under the direction of Dr. Yost at the University of Florida. This project included simulated breath analysis on several biomarkers related to the liver disease cirrhosis. I utilized multiple ionization sources combined with MS and high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS). Shortly after graduation I joined the Yost research group as a graduate student (spring 2015).

Research Interests

I am interested in a wide range of applications using mass spectrometry and the fundamentals behind these methodologies. Some examples of fields where I am currently working on are development of fast separation of complex mixtures, such as isomers, using ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). I am exploring the use of classical drift tube IMS and differential IMS, both in combination with mass spectrometry (MS). Furthermore, chromatographical separation associated with sample preparation for the reduction of matrix effects and improving the separation efficiency, gets my attention to assist other developed methods and bring it to the next level. Environmental and food sciences has always motivated me to work on, the fields are important in our daily life and develop in a high speed. These challenges need well developed scientific approaches to reach estimated results. Another interest where I am currently working on is clinical based, focusing on biomarker discovery and assay development. The clinical relevance of certain methods is very important in these strategies to make it applicable for the field. Close collaboration between our research group and the medical school of the University of Florida provides plenty possibilities of MS research in the clinical field. Metabolomics is a growing field of research, which results in issues in reproducibility. I have developed a method using isotopic ratio outlier analysis (IROA) in combination with ion mobility to increase reproducibility and certainty in compound identification. Environmental and food sciences have always motivated me to work on, these fields are important in our daily life and are developing in a high speed. Associated challenges need well developed scientific approaches to reach results faster and reliable.

Presentations

  • Richard A. Yost; Christopher D. Chouinard; Michael T. Costanzo; Michael S. Wei; Robin H.J. Kemperman; Nicholas R. Oranzi; Timothy J. Garrett. “Ion Mobility/Mass Spectrometry for Metabolomics and Clinical Analysis: Progress and Prospects,” 12th Annual Conference of the Metabolomics Society, Dublin, Ireland, June 2016. Poster Presentation.
  • Robin H.J. Kemperman; Christopher D. Chouinard; Richard A. Yost. “Rapid Differentiation of Bile Acid Isomers using Sodiated Multimer Complexes with Ion Mobility – Mass Spectrometry,” 64th ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, San Antonio, TX, USA, June 2016. Poster Presentation.
  • Christopher D. Chouinard; Robin H.J. Kemperman; Nicholas R. Oranzi; Richard A. Yost. “Stereoisomer Separation by Ion Mobility – Mass Spectrometry of Multivalant Cation-Chiral Small Molecule Complexes,” 64th ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, San Antonio, TX, USA, June 2016. Oral Presentation.
  • Richard A. Yost; Christopher D. Chouinard; Christopher R. Beekman; Michael T. Costanzo; Jared Boock; Robin H.J. Kemperman; Michael S. Wei; Timothy J. Garrett; Chris A. Beecher. “Ion Mobility/Mass Spectrometry for Metabolomics and Clinical Analysis: Progress and Prospects,” Pittcon Conference and Expo, Atlanta, GA, USA, March 2016. Symposium.
  • Christopher D. Chouinard; Robin H.J. Kemperman; Christopher R. Beekman; Richard A. Yost. “Novel Cationization Strategies for Improved Separation of Metabolite Isomers with Ion Mobility – Mass Spectrometry,” PittCon Conference & Expo, Atlanta, GA, March 2016. Oral Presentation.
  • Christopher D. Chouinard; Robin H.J. Kemperman, Harrison King, Richard A. Yost. “Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry: Alternative Drift Gas Selection for Improved Separation of Isomers in Clinical Analysis,” Mass Spectrometry: Applications to the Clinical Lab, Palm Springs, CA, February 2016. Poster Presentation.
  • Robin H.J. Kemperman; Michael T. Costanzo; Christopher R. Beekman; Christopher D. Chouinard; Richard A. Yost. “Method Development for Cirrhosis Biomarkers in Simulated Breath using Various Ionization Techniques Combined with MS and FAIMS,” 63rd ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, St. Louis, MO, USA, June 2015. Poster Presentation.
  • Michael T. Costanzo; Matthew S. Kazaleh; Robin H.J. Kemperman; Richard A. Yost. “FAIMS/MS and FAIMS for Detection of Exogenous VOCs and Drugs of Abuse in Human Breath,” 63rd ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, St. Louis, MO, USA, June 2015. Poster Presentation.
  • Richard A. Yost; Christopher D. Chouinard; Nicholas R. Oranzi; Allison J. Levy; Robin H.J. Kemperman; Michael S. Wei; “Ion Mobility/Mass Spectrometry for Metabolomics and Clinical Analysis,” Mass Spectrometry: Applications to the Clinical Lab, Palm Springs, CA, January 2017. Oral Presentation.
  • Robin H.J. Kemperman; Christopher D. Chouinard; Richard A. Yost. “Rapid Separation of Bile Acid Isomers using Drift Tube and Field Asymmetric Ion Mobility Spectrometry – Mass Spectrometry,” 25th International Conference on Ion Mobility Spectrometry, Boston, MA, USA, July 2016. Poster Presentation.
  • Christopher D. Chouinard; Robin H.J. Kemperman; Richard A. Yost. “Strategies for Improved Separation of Isomeric Steroids with FAIMS-MS/MS,” 25th International Conference on Ion Mobility Spectrometry, Boston, MA, USA, July 2016. Oral Presentation.
  • Richard A. Yost; Christopher D. Chouinard; Michael T. Costanzo; Michael S. Wei; Robin H.J. Kemperman; Nicholas R. Oranzi; Timothy J. Garrett. “Ion Mobility/Mass Spectrometry for Metabolomics and Clinical Analysis: Progress and Prospects,” 12th Annual Conference of the Metabolomics Society, Dublin, Ireland, June 2016. Poster Presentation.

Publications:

  • Christopher D. Chouinard; Christopher R. Beekman; Robin H.J. Kemperman; Harrison M. King; Richard A. Yost. “Ion mobility-mass spectrometry separation of steroid structural isomers and epimers,” Int. J. Ion. Mobil. 2016, DOI: 10.1007/s12127-016-0213-4.Michael T. Costanzo; Jared J. Boock; Robin H.J. Kemperman;
  • Michael S. Wei; Christopher R. Beekman; Richard A. Yost. “Portable FAIMS: Applications and Future Perspectives,”Int. J. Mass Spectrom. 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijms.2016.12.007.
  • Christopher D. Chouinard; Michael S. Wei; Christopher R. Beekman; Robin H.J. Kemperman; Richard A. Yost. “Ion Mobility in Clinical Analysis: Current Progress and Future Perspectives,” Clinical Chemistry. 2016, 62, 124-133.

Teaching Assignments

Developed, monitored, and evaluated lab activities in the chemistry bachelor program. CHM 2046L General Chemistry Lab II ISC 2401L X-Lab II (chemistry, biology, and physics)

Awards and Honors

  • UF Outstanding Graduate Student Award, University of Florida (2019)
  • Awarded for outstanding academic contributions and services to the graduate school. Only awarded to 2 out of ~17,000 UF graduate students annually by the graduate student council (GSC).
  • Eastman Analytical Chemistry Fellowship, Eastman Chemical Company (2019)
  • Awarded for excellence in research, leadership, and academics
  • James D. and Laura Winefordner Summer Scholarship, University of Florida (2019)
  • Awarded for outstanding academic achievements and extracurricular activities
  • Young Investigator Educational Award, MSACL Conference (2018 and 2019)
  • Awarded to give a talk on clinical mass spectrometry at MSACL US
  • UF Office of Research Travel Grant, University of Florida (2018 and 2019)
  • Awarded to present accomplished research at a professional conference
  • Graduate Student Council Travel Grant, University of Florida (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019)
  • Awarded to present accomplished research at a professional conference
  • Steven A. Hofstadler Award, CPSA USA Conference (2018)
  • Awarded for outstanding scientific contributions as a graduate student
  • Roger G. and Jo Bates Fellow, University of Florida (2018)
  • Awarded for overall excellence in research, teaching, and service in the chemistry Ph.D. program
  • Townes R. Leigh Award, University of Florida (2015)
  • Awarded for overall excellence in teaching, scholarship, and research in the first year of graduate school
  • Excellence Star Award, HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht (2014)
  • Awarded for the excellent achievements in the Food & Pharma track: competent and reflective professional, effective leadership, and passion and motivation in research