Karl William Smith

Dr. Karl William Smith is a Research Group Leader at the Spatial Metabolomics Group of the Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften (ISAS) in Dortmund, Germany. He leads research in analytical chemistry and spatial metabolomics, focusing on improving MALDI-MS imaging methods for polar metabolites and stable isotope-labeled molecules. His work spans tissue analysis, method development, and validation workflows using laser capture microdissection (LMD) and LC-MS/MS.

Education: Ph.D. in Biological Mass Spectrometry (Ulster University, 2020), Postdoctoral Researcher at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (Florida State University, 2020–2022).

Research emphasizes enhancing MALDI-MS sensitivity for small molecules through solvent treatments like basic hexane washes, validated via spatial metabolite localization. Key contributions include advancing 2H-labeled metabolite imaging for tracing metabolic pathways in organs.