Sofia Moco

Sofia Moco is an Assistant Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU), affiliated with the Department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences within the Faculty of Science, part of the Amsterdam Institute for Molecular and Life Sciences (AIMMS). Her research focuses on metabolomics approaches to study metabolism, particularly NAD+ biochemistry, drug metabolism, and metabolic diseases.

Education & Qualifications: Chemical Engineering (MSc, Instituto Superior Técnico), PhD in Biochemistry (Wageningen University), and University Teaching Qualification (VU Amsterdam).

Research Expertise: Specializes in NAD+ metabolism, mitochondrial function, and metabolomics technologies (NMR/MS). Leads projects funded by NWO (FERMI), EU (RISK-HUNT3R), and Open Philanthropy (Snakebite Therapies). Developed workflows for NAD+ metabolome analysis in clinical and pre-clinical studies. Established laboratories at Nestlé Research and VU Amsterdam.

Professional Roles: Teaches BSc/MSc courses in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemistry, and Drug Discovery. Coordinator of the AIMMS Talent Program for MSc students. Board member of Benelux Metabolomics Center and member of HRSMC (Holland Research School of Molecular Chemistry). Associate Editor for Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences (Metabolomics).

Key Projects: Investigates NAD+ precursors like trigonelline for muscle function in aging, polyphenol effects on metabolic biomarkers, and FAIR data standards for metabolomics (TDCC-LSH).