Timothy J Garrett, PhD

Role in Innovative Omics: Acquisition and Consultation Services – Metabolomics and Lipidomics through Southeast Center of Integrated Metabolomics (SECIM)

Expert in: Clinical mass spectrometry, metabolomics, lipidomics, mass spectral imaging

Research Interests:

Our research is focused on the application and development of mass spectrometry techniques and instruments for clinical research.  I have a specific interest in developing approaches to small molecule quantitation or characterization using mass spectrometry which would better understanding diseases, drug treatments, and therefore health.  This interest involves the use and development of both imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) to directly probe excised tissue sections for chemical distributions and traditional liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry of (UPLC/MS/MS) homogenized tissue and plasma or serum.  We have been at the fore-front of developing instrumentation and applications for IMS studies and plan to continue developing this technique to provide high-throughput analyses and better identification of unknowns.

Critical to many small molecules studies in clinical research is the development of quantitative multi-analyte assays that are focused on biochemical pathways (Targeted metabolomics).  These multi-analyte assays require both innovation in UPLC and mass spectrometry to separate and identify low level entities in clinical specimens as well as statistical correlations necessary to show what may be changing.  A key component of this research objective is the integration into global metabolomics studies with a proposed Metabolomics Center at UF.  The targeted metabolomic aspect will develop assays based on biomarkers disocovered from large scale global assessment of metabolism with the final goal of developing new assays that would be translated to a clinical mass spectrometry lab in Pathology.