Peggi Melissa Angel is a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Immunology at the College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Her research focuses on extracellular matrix dynamics in cancer and chronic diseases, with emphasis on ancestry-related disparities in breast cancer progression and novel mass spectrometry imaging techniques. Her academic training includes: BS in Chemistry (ACS certified), 1999 PhD from University of Georgia (2007) on "Quantitative Proteomics in Developmental Biology" Postdoctoral Fellowship at Emory University (2007-2008) studying "Fetal Alcohol Syndrome & Alcohol-induced Mitochondrial Post-translational Modifications in Liver Disease" Postdoctoral Fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (2008-2011) on "Systems-based Consortium for Organ Design and Engineering: Heart Valves" Dr. Angel's laboratory pioneers spatial proteomics and glycomics workflows, integrating 2D collagen mapping with microscopy to decode the "collagen switch" in triple-negative breast cancer. Her team develops high-throughput N-glycan assays using imaging mass spectrometry for applications in cancer and cardiovascular diseases, while investigating extracellular matrix remodeling in liver fibrosis, lung adenocarcinoma, and cardiovascular pathology. Current projects focus on quantitative measurement of collagen post-translational modifications and site-specific mutations in disease contexts. Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals dominant trends in spatial omics for cancer microenvironment characterization, with strong emphasis on breast cancer disparities (particularly Black vs. White patient cohorts), pancreatic and prostate cancer heterogeneity, and early detection of liver disease progression. Her work consistently bridges proteomics, glycomics, and ancestry-related molecular patterns using advanced MALDI-MSI platforms. Dr. Angel leads an active research laboratory at MUSC developing cutting-edge methodologies for extracellular matrix and glycan analysis. Her team specializes in multimodal mass spectrometry imaging, machine learning-enhanced data analysis, and the creation of spatial atlases for human tissue microenvironments. Current initiatives include the development of automated histology-MSI co-registration systems and high-throughput platforms for single-cell glycomic profiling.








