{"id":34073,"date":"2026-01-16T14:26:52","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T22:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sop.washington.edu\/?p=34073"},"modified":"2026-01-20T16:15:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T00:15:07","slug":"unlocking-the-invisible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staff.washington.edu\/twentzel\/wordpress\/unlocking-the-invisible\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlocking the Invisible"},"content":{"rendered":"

Inside the UW School of Pharmacy\u2019s Mass Spectrometry Center<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Dale
Dale Whittington<\/a> and Medicinal Chemistry graduate student, Corrina Cooper<\/a>. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Dale Whittington <\/strong><\/a>arrived at the University of Washington, he did not imagine that he would one day help shape one of the School of Pharmacy\u2019s most consequential research facilities. Trained as a biologist, with a career path that briefly veered away from science altogether, Whittington eventually found his way back\u2014drawn by the chance to work at the intersection of discovery, teaching, and problem-solving.<\/p>\n

More than a decade later, as technical director and manager of the UW School of Pharmacy\u2019s Mass Spectrometry Center, he oversees an operation that quietly underpins a wide range of scientific work. It is not a space defined by spectacle, but by precision: instruments that weigh molecules with extraordinary accuracy, revealing details that would otherwise remain invisible.<\/p>\n

At its core, mass spectrometry rests on a deceptively simple principle. Molecules are given an electrical charge and guided through electromagnetic fields toward a detector. How they move\u2014and how long they take to arrive\u2014reveals their identity, structure, and abundance. From this information, researchers can determine molecular weights, concentrations, and subtle chemical differences that shape how drugs behave in the body.<\/p>\n

From small molecules like amino acids to complex proteins and antibodies, mass spectrometry has become a foundational tool across chemistry, biology, and medicine. Its reach is broad, but its value lies in specificity.<\/p>\n

From Molecules to Meaning<\/strong><\/p>\n

The real power of mass spectrometry emerges not from the instrument itself, but from the questions it allows scientists to ask. Researchers use it to track how medications are absorbed, distributed, and eliminated; to study how proteins change in disease; and to understand why a therapy may work well in one context but fail in another.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the tool that lets us interrogate biological and chemical questions at a fundamental level,\u201d Whittington says. \u201cWhether you\u2019re studying drug concentrations in tissue or changes in proteins during disease, mass spectrometry gives you a way to see what\u2019s actually happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Mary Hebert<\/strong><\/a>, a professor of pharmacy and director of the UW\u2019s Obstetric-Fetal Pharmacology Research Unit, the Center\u2019s work is essential to understanding how medications behave during pregnancy and lactation\u2014populations historically underrepresented in clinical research.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pharmacokinetics of most medications have not been studied in these populations,\u201d she explains. \u201cThe Mass Spectrometry Center has made it possible to identify not only how drug handling changes during pregnancy, but also allows us to make informed predictions about other medications eliminated via similar pathways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learning by Doing<\/strong><\/p>\n

What distinguishes the UW School of Pharmacy\u2019s Mass Spectrometry Center is not only its technical capacity, but its approach to training. At many institutions, mass spectrometers are operated exclusively by specialists, with users receiving only processed data. At UW, students are encouraged to engage directly with the instruments themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to train mass spectrometrists, not just data recipients,\u201d Whittington says. \u201cStudents learn how to prepare samples, optimize methods, troubleshoot problems, and design experiments from start to finish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graduate students progress quickly from observation to hands-on work. By their third session, many are expected to operate independently, with staff stepping in only when needed. The experience demystifies the technology\u2014and builds confidence.<\/p>\n

That experience carries weight beyond the university. Graduates trained at the Center enter industry and academic labs able to operate instruments, interpret results, and adapt methods with minimal supervision. Employers recognize the difference.<\/p>\n

Medicinal Chemistry Affiliate Assistant Professor Kim Alonge<\/a><\/strong>, whose research focuses on the brain\u2019s extracellular matrix, sees that impact firsthand in her trainees. \u201cDirect access to mass spectrometry empowers them to generate and interpret complex datasets independently,\u201d she says. \u201cThat accelerates their development as scientists and makes them more competitive for fellowships and careers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Expanding the Boundaries<\/strong><\/p>\n

While pharmaceutical research remains central to the Center\u2019s mission, its applications extend far beyond drug development. Mass spectrometry has been used to analyze compounds in cannabis products, verify the composition of fish oil supplements, and even fingerprint wines to confirm their geographic origins.<\/p>\n

One rapidly advancing area is MALDI imaging, a technique that allows researchers to map the spatial distribution of molecules within thin slices of tissue. The sample remains intact, preserving information about where compounds accumulate\u2014or fail to reach.<\/p>\n

This approach has reshaped understanding of HIV therapies by revealing uneven drug penetration in tissues, helping explain how viral reservoirs persist despite treatment. In neuroscience, it is opening new windows into the chemistry of the brain.<\/p>\n

Using the Bruker timsTOF fleX platform, the only open access MALDI (matrix assisted laser desorption ionization) tissue imaging mass spectrometry in the northwest, UW students and researchers working with Alonge have mapped glycans in the hippocampus, uncovering spatial patterns linked to Alzheimer\u2019s disease. \u201cWithout access to this facility\u2014and this specific technology\u2014those insights would not have been possible,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Whittington sees artificial intelligence playing a growing role in managing the sheer volume of data mass spectrometry generates. \u201cThere\u2019s more information than any one person can reasonably process,\u201d he notes. \u201cIf we can apply AI in a careful, unbiased way, it may reveal patterns we\u2019re not yet able to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Place to Grow<\/strong><\/p>\n

For Whittington, the appeal of the Center lies in its constant motion. Each project presents a new puzzle; each student brings a different way of thinking. The work resists routine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel fortunate to do something that\u2019s always changing,\u201d he says. \u201cBetween the teaching, the experiments, and the problem-solving, no two days are the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

For students and researchers alike, the Mass Spectrometry Center is more than a shared resource. It is a place where theory meets practice, where complex tools become accessible, and where careful measurement leads to clearer understanding.<\/p>\n

As Hebert puts it, \u201cThere are critical questions\u2014especially in pregnancy\u2014that simply can\u2019t be answered without highly sensitive, specific assays. Without this Center, we would not be able to quantify drug exposures that matter for both mother and child.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a field often defined by what cannot yet be seen, the Mass Spectrometry Center helps bring the invisible into focus\u2014one molecule at a time.<\/p>\n

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Short Cut: What Does a Mass Spectrometer Do? <\/strong><\/p>\n