Organ systems are composed of unique cell types that actively coordinate to enable higher order functions. Even slight deviances in the molecular or cellular states of these systems can result in debilitating disorders whose severity, treatment course, and overall treatment outcome vary widely from patient to patient.

This level of complexity likely contributes to promising therapeutics failing within clinical trials and, thus, require further exploration. Thus, the Neumann lab focuses on developing and applying multimodal imaging and profiling techniques to study the molecular and cellular architecture behind complex human diseases, such as renal cell carcinoma, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Canavan’s Disease.

To do this, we combine multiple analytical tools to detect molecules throughout the central dogma of biology, including genes, proteins, and metabolites.

Our main instrument is the Bruker timsTOF fleX MALDI MS system, which enables us to detect hundreds to thousands of metabolomic features at <10 µm spatial resolution.

In conjunction with immunohistochemistry and spatial transcriptomics, we can connect these metabolomic profiles to specific cell types and cell states. These integrated technologies can be used on a variety of biological samples with high reproducibility and rigor.