Dr. Tim Garrett
Dr. Tim Garrett is an Associate Professor at the University of Florida's Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, and the Chief of Experimental Pathology. His expertise in analytical chemistry and mass spectrometry has significantly advanced the field of metabolomics, leading to the development of innovative tools like LipidMatch and Iterative Exclusion (IE Omics) for lipid and metabolite analysis (Garrett Lab) (Pathology & Immunology). Dr. Garrett's research has broad applications, from defining metabolic characteristics in canine diabetes to identifying urinary metabolomic patterns in prostate cancer. His work has also led to over 100 peer-reviewed publications. As the Director of the Southeast Center for Integrated Metabolomics (SECIM), he has played a pivotal role in establishing high-throughput and reproducible metabolomics approaches (Garrett Lab) (UF Metabolomics). His dedication to collaborative science and mentoring the next generation of researchers underscores his significant contributions to both academia and clinical research (Garrett Lab) (Garrett Lab).
For more detailed information, you can visit his profile at the University of Florida and SECIM's page.
We asked Dr. Garrett the following questions and here’s what he had to say:
1) What are some grand challenges you face in metabolomics?
One of the grand challenges in metabolomics is tackling the identification of metabolites, especially novel metabolites which will expand our current understanding of metabolism. A second challenge is effectively communicating results from an experiment to the community including how the data is structured while also explaining the biology.
2) Where do you see the field in 10 years?
Metabolomics has come a long way in the past 10 years. I envision the next 10 years to include a significant component of artificial intelligence that will be used for data processing, metabolite identification, and even experimental design. I also believe that technological innovation improving separations with both chromatography and ion mobility will be key developments.
It is a perfect time to be a co-organizer for the MANA 2024 meeting at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fl. Working with the local organizing committee, the scientific organizing committee, and the MANA board has been enjoyable and critical to ensure we host an incredible meeting. John Koomen and I are looking forward to welcoming you all to Tampa, Florida this October!
