Research Interests and Scientific Background

My research interests include structural analysis of complex molecules by collision-induced dissociation and photodissociation in Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance (FT-ICR) Mass Spectrometry and development of portable analytical detectors. Our current research projects focus on reducing mass spectral detection limits for the analysis of environmental toxins. During my undergraduate studies at the University of Texas in Tyler and Baylor University, I worked on electrolytic destruction of halogenated and toxic organic molecules in aqueous surfactant systems. As a graduate student at Texas A & M University , I designed several Ion Cyclotron Resonance (ICR) ion trap devices for detection and structural analysis of high mass biomolecules by Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption Ionization and FT-ICR (MALDI/FT-ICR) mass spectrometry. We demonstrated the high sensitivity of MALDI coupled with high-performance magnetic sector (electric [E]/magnetic [B] sector) reflectron TOF tandem mass spectrometry (EB/TOF) for structural analysis of biomolecules. We also developed FT-ICR mass spectral techniques to study metal ion excited states and effects of long-lived metastable electronic states on the reaction chemistry of organic and inorganic molecules using gas-phase ion-molecule reactions.

My research at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory employed electrospray ionization (ESI) and MALDI coupled with high field FT-ICR instruments. At NHMFL, we developed multi-dimensional ultra-high resolution mass spectral techniques for structural analysis of biomolecules and environmentally significant molecules in multi-component complex samples such as fulvic and humic acids.

At Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute (IITRI) in Chicago, I was employed as a Senior Scientist in the Chemical and Biological Defense section of Energy and Environmental Sciences. At IITRI, in collaboration with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) we worked on projects to develop a mass spectral database for automated pattern recognition.

I have co-authored two book chapters and 19 publications in refereed Journals and presented over 50 scientific contributions in professional national and international meetings. I have several years of industrial quality control and quality assurance management and I am an ISO 9000 certified. My professional affiliations include the American Chemical Society, and the American Society for Mass Spectrometry.

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