Overview

We are a multidisciplinary lab studying the host-microbe interface on a molecular level. We use a strategy referred to as synthesis-based reverse metabolomics to discover metabolites of biological interest. In this approach, complex mixtures of potential metabolites are generated using chemical synthesis, then mass spectrometry is used to capture MS/MS spectra for these molecules. These spectral fingerprints are then searched for in public metabolomics data to determine if a molecule is present in biological samples and if so, where. Ultimately, this method allows us to make reliable metabolite-phenotype associations. From there, we are able to explore the biological roles and activities of disease-associated small molecules with the help of great collaborators.