Despite my initial Biology education, I always had a special interest in the chemistry behind biological processes. I therefore was very pleased that a mass spectrometer was purchased in 1991, and I could have an impact on implementing mass spectrometric analysis for the identification and quantification of small molecules in planta. Now, 35 years later, I can proudly say it was an exciting journey. My expertise is analytically oriented. I developed expertise in the identification and characterization of metabolites and derivatives of phytohormones and secondary metabolites allowing the characterization of the metabolic pathways induced upon external signals. An important research line is the development of very specific physicochemical MS based analytic tools enabling this identification and quantification work, nowadays called a targeted metabolomics approach. My other biological fascination, abnormal developmental patterns, brought me to decipher the metabolism and crosstalk of phytohormones. Hormones are regulated by a strict metabolic steady-state, and they trigger biochemical reaction cascades including biosynthesis and/or metabolism of primary and specific secondary metabolites, which accumulate to protect the plant against future harmful conditions, called acclimation. My biological oriented research focusses on mechanisms controlling the phytohormone steady state and crosstalk directing plant growth and development.