Research Themes
Dr Jenkinson’s research programme is based around clinical chemistry, vitamin D metabolism linked to human health. Other themes of research include analysis of steroid metabolism pathways by LC-MS/MS for translational approaches within sports antidoping and health research.
Research Activity
Dr Jenkinson’s research is focussed on the application of translational mass spectrometry research in the study of vitamin D metabolism for investigating optimal levels in human health (OPTIMAL-D).
This research has been funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement.
Further support has been provided through Society for Endocrinology Equipment and Early Career research grants.
LC-MS/MS method development
These research projects aim to establish novel sample preparation and LC-MS/MS methods to quantify vitamin D metabolites across metabolic pathways in order to measure these metabolites in different biological samples including serum and tissues.
Vitamin D metabolism
There are multiple pathways for the activation and inactivation of vitamin D and these projects have aimed to explore these different pathways within circulation. This includes recent circulating measurements of alternative CYP11A1 pathway metabolites and phase II conjugated forms of vitamin D.
Biomarkers of vitamin D in health
The translational approach of LC-MS/MS analysis to clinical and observational studies have linked different metabolite forms beyond routinely measured 25OHD to outcomes in health. This includes 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D measurements related to bone mineral density in elderly populations, and differences in metabolism during pregnancy.
Steroid metabolism
Other previous research projects have explored steroid metabolic profiles by LC-MS/MS for translational applications in sports antidoping tests and human health studies.
Research Groups and Centres