About the Lab
Our laboratory’s expertise is in the development and application of direct mass spectrometry technologies for tissue analysis and disease detection. Our research projects are focused on the identification of metabolic markers of cancer and other diseases, as well as in the development of mass spectrometry technologies and medical devices for surgical use.
We use a combination of chemistry, mass spectrometry, statistical analysis, machine learning, and device prototyping techniques to solve complex problems in biomedical research and develop new technologies to improve patient care.
We are keenly interested in improving clinical decision-making for cancer diagnosis and during surgery by providing clinicians with disease-predictive metabolic information in near real-time, as well as building a deeper understanding of disease progression, prognosis, and treatment strategies.
One of our exciting inventions, the MasSpec Pen technology, has been featured on the television series Grey’s Anatomy and is currently being tested by surgeons in the Texas Medical Center. We also develop cutting-edge mass spectrometry imaging technology to spatially interrogate molecular composition in tissues and in challenging clinical samples.
Our lab is funded by the NIH, CPRIT, and other medical and research foundations.
Lab team members
Current Projects
Recent Publications
Hiram Subhra Base, Meredith Spradlin, Tian Weihua, Jose Enriquez, Pratip Bhattacharya, Livia S. Eberlin, "Glutaminase inhibitors block metabolic switch in prostate cancer and prevents anti-androgen treatment resistance", Cancer Research, 2023
Mary E. King, Monica Lin, Meredith Spradlin, and Livia S. Eberlin, "Advances and Emerging Medical Applications of Direct Mass Spectrometry Technologies for Tissue Analysis", Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry, 2023

Recent News
Dr. Eberlin Awarded NIH Grant to Study Alzheimer’s - Oct. 20, 2022
Baylor Researchers Awarded $1.6M to Investigate Mass Spec Test for Thyroid Cancer - April 18, 2022

Fun and Outreach
Cutting Loose Social painting competition.
Primary Investigator
Dr. Livia Eberlin’s research program centers around the development and application of novel mass spectrometry technologies in health-related research.