Science on Tap: Finding a Needle in a Haystack: Advancing Biomolecular Discovery with Mass Spectrometry

Finding new chemistry from natural sources is often described as “finding a needle in a haystack,” where scientists must sift through vast numbers of organisms, extracts, and/or genetic variants before uncovering a molecule that fits their needs. Advances in analytical technology now allow us to search more chemical space than ever before, while dramatically reducing the effort required to do so. Together, these advances have enabled a new era of high-throughput (or extremely fast) biomolecular discovery. From small molecules to proteins, join me as I share how my research leverages state-of-the-art technologies, namely mass spectrometry, to make the discovery of new biological chemistry faster, more efficient, and more accessible.

Speaker: Robert Shepherd, UC Santa Cruz