Stable Isotope Tracer Mass Spectrometry 2026 - Webinar Series
The BMSS is pleased to announce the latest in the successful series of Online webinars. hosted by the Stable Isotope Tracer Mass Spectrometry SIG.
The History of Mass Spectrometry is intricately intertwined with that of stable isotopes and their use as metabolic tracers. These webinars will highlight the current trends within metabolic research from internationally renowned experts in the field.
Dates for the diary:
- Thursday 24th September 2026, 5pm (BST)
- Friday 16th October 2026, 5pm (BST)
- Thursday 19th Nov 2026, 5pm (GMT)
- Friday 4th Dec 2026, 5pm (GMT)
Detailed Programme:
24th Sept 2026 5pm (BST):
Rovshan G. Sadygov, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The University of Texas Medical Branch
Title: Computational models of protein turnover from mass spectra of deuterated peptides.
Bio:
Rovshan Sadygov received his undergraduate training in the Physics Department of the Moscow State University (named after M.V. Lomonosov), Moscow, Russia. He defended his Ph. D. thesis at the same university in 1992, after which he moved to the USA. He did post-doctoral work at Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD) and The Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla, CA). He is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston, TX). A major focus of his lab is the development of bioinformatics and mass informatics techniques to determine protein turnover rates from LC-MS data of deuterated water-labeled samples. His team derived formulas for isotopomer dynamics during deuterium labeling. They implemented these formulas in a bioinformatics tool (d2ome) to automate protein turnover estimation. In collaboration with colleagues, they applied d2ome to study protein turnover in a mouse model of NAFLD.
16th Oct 2026 5pm (BST):
Stephen F. Previs, Ph.D.
Title: Mass spectrometry and stable isotope kinetic methods for biology and biomarker strategies: Lessons learned in drug discovery.
Bio:
My career is defined by a single core focus: using mass spectrometry and stable isotope analyses to differentiate patients and decode biochemical (metabolic) traffic flow.
The journey began in clinical diagnostics, using mass spectrometry to screen for "Inborn Errors" of metabolism (it was 1989, long before metabolomics was mainstream). After earning a Ph.D. in tracer-based analyses of nutritional biochemistry, I completed post-doctoral research at Yale University studying substrate metabolism in the context of insulin resistance. As faculty at Case Western Reserve University (2000), I expanded these techniques to map nutrient partitioning and inter-organ lipid and protein trafficking.
In 2009, I joined Merck, spending 15+ years leveraging metabolic flux and mass spectrometry across early development and clinical candidate delivery. My work supported programs in Diabetes, Heart Failure, Chronic Kidney Disease, Fibrosis, Neuroscience, and Oncology—focusing on target engagement, mechanism of action, and resolving unexpected clinical outcomes driven by compensatory pharmacodynamics.
I currently hold dual roles as Sr Director with PharmaCadence Analytical Services, where we deliver high-end mass spectrometry solutions and Professor of Practice at New Jersey Institute of Technology, where I bring real-world, problem-based drug discovery insights directly to the classroom to inspire and train the next generation of scientific leaders.
19th Nov 2026 5pm (GMT):
David D. Church, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor and Director of the Center for Translational Research in Aging and Longevity (CTRAL)
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine.
Title: Using Tracers from Metabolism to Outcomes.
Bio:
David D. Church is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Center for Translational Research in Aging and Longevity (CTRAL) at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine. Dr. Church’s research program centers on applying metabolic tracer kinetics, stable isotope methodology, and tissue-level proteostasis tracking to evaluate muscle quality, protein turnover, and metabolic interventions across the human lifespan and clinical stress continuum.
Holding a PhD in Exercise Physiology from the University of Central Florida and completing a post-doctoral fellowship in stable isotope tracer methodology at UAMS under Drs. Arny Ferrando and Robert Wolfe, Dr. Church bridges the gap between metabolic flux and functional outcomes. His work leverages advanced stable isotope techniques to elucidate human protein metabolism in states ranging from age-related sarcopenia and clinical trauma to high-performance military and athletic cohorts.
Dr. Church serves as Principal Investigator on multiple federal-, foundation-, and industry-funded clinical trials exploring essential amino acid kinetics, macronutrient quality, and therapeutic interventions to mitigate muscle loss. He was awarded the 2024 American Society for Nutrition (ASN) Vernon Young International Award for Amino Acid Research for his contributions to the field.
4th Dec 2026 5pm (GMT):
Elizabeth J. Parks, Ph.D.
Professor of Medicine, Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Missouri
Title: Multiple isotope tracers used in a single experiment: Physiologic discoveries in cellular trafficking
Bio:
Elizabeth Parks is a Professor of Medicine in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology and Department of Medicine-Gastroenterology, in the School of Medicine at the University of Missouri and an investigator in the university’s NextGen Precision Health Initiative. Her research focuses on understanding how the food we eat is processed in the body to benefit health and how it can also contribute to the progression of diseases such as obesity, pre-diabetes, and diabetes. The major research contributions of the Parks Lab center on her ability to measure the absorption and disposal of dietary fats, carbohydrates, and proteins in humans and in animal models. Over the past 27 years, Dr. Parks has discovered how the body switches metabolism from fasting to fed states and this work has contributed significantly to national dietary guidelines for diabetes and heart disease. Dr. Parks' seminal contributions have included understanding lipogenesis, which is the synthesis of liver fat from dietary sugars. Lipogenesis is a significant cause of fatty liver, the most common cause of liver disease in the world. Dr. Parks is a fellow of the American Heart Association and the Obesity Society, where she served the latter organization as its 40th President in 2023. She has performed numerous translational studies to develop new medications to treat fatty liver disease, with one compound, denifanstat, now ready for Phase 3 development. Her current Phase I study of the drug miricorilant, is testing the compound's effect on liver fat synthesis. She has won multiple awards for mentorship of early-career faculty and guided new investigators through their first clinical trials.
Enquires:
Daniel Wilkinson Daniel.Wilkinson@nottingham.ac.uk
Matthew Brook Matthew.Brook@nottingham.ac.uk
Kenneth Smith ken.smith@nottingham.ac.uk
