Facundo Fernandez, professor and associate chair in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, was recently featured in the Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry. As the latest subject of the journal’s “Faces of Mass Spectrometry” series, Fernandez discusses his personal and scientific history, from his upbringing in Argentina to the pivotal role of his postdoctoral mentor to his interest in the fundamentals and applications of mass spectrometry.
Fernandez provides a highly accessible insight into his laboratory’s work on ambient mass spectrometry, analytical problems crucial to space travel, and characterizing pharmaceutical compounds and the molecular signatures of disease. The interview provides a good introduction into many diverse applications of state-of-the-art mass spectrometry, which, in the Fernandez lab, translates to bringing highly sophisticated molecular characterization to bear in non-traditional environments and on important biological questions.
Fernandez is the twenty-fourth investigator to be profiled in the “Faces” series, which began in 2018. Mostly from the US, the honorees work across a variety of organizations – universities, companies, and national laboratories – and on all aspects of mass spectrometry.
