David Muddiman

Jacob and Betty Belin Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Founder and Director, W.M. Keck Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, North Carolina State University, USA.

Why analytical science?
I am squeamish, so that ruled out medical school, and I can’t synthesize molecules for the life of me, so that ruled out organic chemistry, but I had an innate ability and creative mind with regards to measuring molecules. Coupled with my love of math, statistics, and complex data, I found I could help others without being in an operating room.

Career highlight
Developing the next generation of scientists and seeing them embrace the concept that in order to make significant discoveries, they need to learn to “read” the multiple languages in which biology speaks to us.

What’s next for omics?
The more we learn the more we realize we need to integrate omics data. From proteoform biology, to glycomics, lipidomics, metabolomics, and fluxomics – to really understand biology, it is absolutely imperative that we measure these networks of biological information to really understand the “complete” picture of the system under investigation.

Part of the Power List 2017

The Magnificent Tens
After 2016’s celebration of women in analytical science, we return to the Top 100 for 2017.
But there’s a twist. This summer, we asked you to nominate scientists in ten categories – from the stars of separation science, to omics explorers, to the mentors training the next generation.

Go to The Power List 2017