Mass Spectrometry Research Center

In a landmark study published in Science Advances, Vanderbilt researchers have created the first high-resolution lipid atlas of the human kidney, mapping over 100,000 functional tissue units across 29 donors. By integrating advanced imaging mass spectrometry with microscopy using machine learning, the team identified distinct lipid signatures that could transform diagnostics and precision treatments for kidney disease. Read More

In a landmark study published in Science Advances, Vanderbilt researchers have created the first high-resolution lipid atlas of the human kidney, mapping over 100,000 functional tissue units across 29 donors. By integrating advanced imaging mass spectrometry with microscopy using machine learning, the team identified distinct lipid signatures that could transform diagnostics and precision treatments for kidney disease. Read More

Since its publication on February 21, 2025, the Burnette Lab’s article detailing the discovery of blebbisomes—a newly identified class of extracellular vesicles—has received over 44,000 Article Accesses, a remarkable benchmark for scientific reach and engagement. This visibility is due in part to Vanderbilt University’s new open access agreement with… Read More

Just as swallows journey to San Juan Capistrano, California, and monarch butterflies migrate to Michoacan, Mexico, each spring, so mass spectrometrists from across the globe converge on Vanderbilt University for the annual, four-day Advanced Imaging Mass Spectrometry workshop. Read More

Just as swallows journey to San Juan Capistrano, California, and monarch butterflies migrate to Michoacan, Mexico, each spring, so mass spectrometrists from across the globe converge on Vanderbilt University for the annual, four-day Advanced Imaging Mass Spectrometry workshop. Read More

Since its February 2025 publication in Nature Cell Biology, a groundbreaking study from the Burnette Lab has drawn more than 44,000 Article Accesses—amplified by Vanderbilt’s new open access agreement with Springer Nature. The study reveals the existence of blebbisomes, massive, motile extracellular vesicles that behave almost like mini cells. Packed with organelles and capable of delivering immune-modulating proteins, blebbisomes may one day serve as therapeutic couriers or targets in cancer treatment. Read More

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. Ken Lau and Jeffrey Spraggins are creating the first spatially mapped atlas characterizing the progression trajectories of early-onset colorectal cancer versus average-onset CRC as they transition from precancerous lesions to malignant cancers. Read More

A research grant to study lung and cerebral organoids will yield insights into the sensitivity of lung and brain tumors to commercially available antibody-drug conjugate payloads. The OVPRI Industry Collaborations group facilitated the collaboration. Read More

To honor and continue Richard Caprioli’s legacy of teaching technological advances, the Richard Caprioli Basic Sciences Research Award for Technology Education fund has been established to allow Ph.D. students in the biomedical sciences to attend focused educational experiences in a technology that they would otherwise not encounter in their graduate studies. Read More

Jeffrey Spraggins, a leading scientist in imaging mass spectrometry, has been named director of the Mass Spectrometry Research Center. The MSRC is a highly collaborative research entity incorporating a wide range of technologies and serving hundreds of users, including partnering with pharmaceutical companies on drug development research. Read More