Michael Skinnider named to “Talented 12” list of early career researchers

Written by
Daniel Day, Office of Innovation
May 23, 2024

Chemical and Engineering News has named Michael Skinnider, an assistant professor at Princeton’s Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics and a member of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Princeton Branch, as one of its annual “Talented 12” early career scientists using chemistry in research that will have a global impact.

Skinnider was chosen from among 450 nominations to Chemical and Engineering News, a publication of the American Chemical Society. In a profile on him, the magazine says Skinnider is “combining the powers of mass spectrometry and machine learning to help shed new light on metabolites,” which are small molecules produced by cells in plants, animals, microbes and the human body.

“Metabolites are also useful to chemists,” the story said. “The molecules can serve as a starting point for new medicines, point out potential environmental toxins, and help diagnose cancers and cardiovascular disease.”

Skinnider told the publication that as he and colleagues in the Skinnider Research Lab “learn more about metabolites found in our bodies, they can start to link these molecules to cancers and other diseases.”

“It’s an enormous honor to be named to this list along with many accomplished peers and to join the company of previous classes — both include many chemists whose work I’ve admired for years,” Skinnider said.