This paper integrates MALDI-MS/MS into a bioinformatics platform to enable rapid metabolite annotation and strain prioritization from microbial colonies.

Journal of Natural Products · Aug 24, 2026Peer-reviewedMicrobiology

IDBac: an open-access web platform and compendium for the identification of bacteria by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

Nyssa K. Krull, Michael J. Strobel, Julia Saulog, Liana Zaroubi, Bruno Sachetto Paulo, Mandisa Timba, Douglas R. Braun, Gabrielle Mingolelli, Jessia Raherisoanjato, Robert A. Shepherd, Abigail F. Scott, Carlo De Silva, Claire H. Fergusson, Zachary Daniel, Sriya Pokharel, , Brian T. Murphy

IDBac provides a centralized database and platform for bacterial identification via MALDI-TOF MS, enabling spectral comparison and analysis of bacterial isolates.

Nature Communications · Jul 22, 2026Peer-reviewedMicrobiology

A High-Throughput Biocatalytic Platform for Screening Isomeric Kainoid Natural Products

Robert A. Shepherd, Manasa Ramachandra, Austin R. Hopiavuori, Marla Jones, Conrad A. Fihn, Alex J. Tabag, Ananya Manjunath, Limar Y. Gad, Chloe R. Whipple, Shaun M. K. McKinnie, Laura M. Sanchez

The paper develops a MALDI-TIMS-MS platform for high-throughput screening of isomeric product ratios from enzyme libraries, identifying variants with improved KAL conversion.

Cell Reports Physical Science · Feb 1, 2026Peer-reviewedBioengineering

MALDI-TIMS-MS2 Imaging and Annotation of Natural Products in Fungal-Bacterial Co-Culture

Robert A. Shepherd, Gordon T. Luu, Laura M. Sanchez

This paper demonstrates the use of MALDI iprm-PASEF to rapidly and accurately annotate coproporphyrin III in a fungal-bacterial co-culture.

Analytical Chemistry · Aug 27, 2025Peer-reviewedMicrobiology