Title:    Measuring the brain with spatial, temporal and chemical detail across scales

Time:    2025-09-15 15:00

Lecturer:  Jonathan Sweedler

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Venue:    Room 202, Lu-Jiaxi Building

Abstract：

This talk highlights advanced chemical analysis at the single cell and subcellular levels using mass spectrometry imaging. Single-cell MS, and nanodialysis-MS to lipids, neurotransmitters, and neuropeptides in the brain. These approaches complement transcriptomics by revealing metabolic diversity among seemingly homogeneous cells and enable functional subclassification of organelles such as secretory vesicles. Applications include the discovery of novel metabolites and the characterization of both known and previously unknown neuropeptides and peptide hormones.

Bio of Jonathan Sweedler：

Jonathan Sweedler is currently the Eiszner Family Endowed Professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, with joint appointments in the Department of Chemistry, the Institute for Genomic Biology, and the Beckman Institute for Advanced science and Technology. His research interests focus on developing new approaches for assaying small volume samples, including lipidomics, metabolomics and peptidomics using micro- and nanofluidics, miniaturized separations, and mass spectrometry. He has used these tools to characterize small molecules and peptides in a range of animal models across metazoan life and in samples as small as individual cells and cellular domains. Sweedler has published more than 500 manuscripts and presented 600 invited lectures. He has received numerous awards including the ACS Award in Analytical Chemistry. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fellow of the American Chemical Society. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for Analytical Chemistry.