Professor Musah, Justine, Kristen, Cameron, and Meghan presented posters at the Northeastern Association of Forensic Scientists in Pocono Manor, PA. Professor Musah presented "Psychedelics Leave Their Marks: Establishing Exposure to Psychoactive Plant-based Legal Highs by MALDI Mass Spectrometric Imaging of Fingermarks". Justine presented "Unscrambling the Egg: Species Identification of Necrophagous Insect Eggs by Amino Acid Profiling". Kristen presented "LADI Liberty: Development of a Mass Spectrometry Imaging Approach Free of Sample Preparation Steps for Analysis of Psychoactive Substances in Complex Matrices". Cameron presented "Reading the Fine Print: Connecting Perpetrators to Crimes by Imaging of Forensically-relevant Molecules in Fingerprints by Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry Imaging". Meghan presented "Out of Thin Air: Detecting the Presence of Plant-based Legal Highs in Air".
Amy Osborne and Megan Chambers Join the Musah Lab
The Musah Lab welcomes first year PhD students Amy and Megan to the lab! Amy graduated from the University of New Haven in 2015 and Megan graduated from Hofstra University in 2017.
Musah Lab Featured in Scientific American's 60-Second Science
Professor Musah was featured in Scientific American's 60-Second Science Podcast. She discussed the applications of using DART-HRMS for rapid identification of entomological evidence. This work was recently published in Analytical Chemistry. The podcast can be found here.
Musah Lab Meets with Incoming President Rodriguez
Incoming President Havidan Rodriguez toured the Musah Lab.
Blow Fly Identification Work Featured in Forensic Magazine
Forensic Magazine recently published an article highlighting the research performed by Professor Musah, Justine and Cameron, alongside collaborator Professor Jennifer Rosati of John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The research focused on developing a rapid method of identification of blow fly eggs typically found on corpses to assist in determination of postmortem interval. The article can be found here.
Musah Lab Featured in Chemical and Engineering News
The Musah Research Lab's work on identification of blow fly eggs using DART-HRMS was featured in C&EN. The article describes the research outlined in the manuscript recently published in Analytical Chemical titled "Species Identification of Necrophagous Insect Eggs Based on Amino Acid Profile Differences Revealed by Direct Analysis in Real Time-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry". This paper was selected as an ACS Editors' Choice, an honor reserved for articles that feature research that “exemplifies the [American Chemical Society's] commitment to improving people's lives through the transforming power of chemistry.
Musah Lab Presents at ASMS
Professor Musah, Justine, Kristen and Cameron attended the 65th Annual Meeting for the American Society of Mass Spectrometry in Indianapolis, Indiana. Professor Musah presented her poster entitled "Bouquet of Death: Determination of Carrion Flower Blowfly Attractants by Ambient Mass Spectrometry". Justine delivered her poster titled "“Fowl” Odors: Identification of Blow Fly Attraction Cues in Decomposing Chicken Livers". Kristen presented her poster titled "Development of Laser Ablation Direct Analysis in Real Time Imaging Mass Spectrometry (LADI-MS): Applications to Forensics Imaging". Cameron presented his poster titled "Laden Latents: Revealing Human Handling of Psychoactive Plant Materials through Biomarker Fingerprint Imaging by MALDI-SpiralTOF High Resolution Mass Spectrometry".
Professor Musah presenting her poster at ASMS.
Justine presenting her poster at ASMS.
Kristen with her poster at ASMS.
Cameron with his poster at ASMS.
Paper Accepted by Analytical Chemistry
Professor Musah, Justine and Cameron have had an article published in Analytical Chemistry. The manuscript demonstrated a novel method for rapid identification of blow fly eggs by DART-HRMS. The technique bypass many challenges of conventional identifications often associated with forensic entomology and can provide insights into postmortem interval determinations. The manuscript is titled "Species Identification of Necrophagous Insect Eggs Based on Amino Acid Profile Differences Revealed by Direct Analysis in Real Time-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry". This paper was selected as an ACS Editors' Choice, an honor reserved for articles that feature research that “exemplifies the [American Chemical Society's] commitment to improving people's lives through the transforming power of chemistry.
Blow fly eggs.
Kristen Receives NIJ Fellowship
Kristen was awarded the prestigious National Institute of Justice Graduate Research Fellowship for her research titled “Development and Application of Small-molecule Spatial Distribution Imaging: Laser Ablation Direct Analysis in Real Time Imaging-Mass Spectrometry (LADI-MS)”. This award was created to support graduate students who engage in research focused on the challenges of crime and justice in the United States. Kristen was one of twenty-three students selected from across the country to receive this award. Congratulations Kristen!
Allix Presents 14th Annual Undergraduate Research Conference at the University at Albany-SUNY
Allix presenting at the 14th Annual Undergraduate Research Conference.
Allix gave a talk at the 14th Annual Undergraduate Research Conference. Her presentation was titled "Locard’s Lube: The Identification of Condom Residues Using DART-MS".
Allix Presents at 9th Annual Eastern New York American Chemical Society's Undergraduate Research Symposium
Allix presented at the ENY ACS Undergraduate Symposium at Siena College, Loudonville, NY. Her poster was entitled "Can’t Hide this Trojan Horse: Condom Lubricant Identification by Direct Analysis in Real Time High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (DART-HRMS)".
Allix presenting her poster at ENY ACS Undergraduate Research Symposium.
Allix presenting her poster at the ENY ACS Undergraduate Research Symposium.
Professor Musah Visits University of Central Florida
Professor Musah visited UCF and was hosted by the Bridge Research Lab. She presented a talk at the Chemistry Department Seminar titled "Snack Attack: Plant Chemical Responses to Herbivory and their Applications".
Paper Accepted by Analytical Chemistry
Kristen had her first first-author paper published in Analytical Chemistry. The manuscript describes the development and applications of the novel mass spectrometry technique LADI-MS. The paper is titled "Development of “Laser Ablation Direct Analysis in Real Time Imaging” Mass Spectrometry: Application to Spatial Distribution Mapping of Metabolites Along the Biosynthetic Cascade Leading to Synthesis of Atropine and Scopolamine in Plant Tissue."
Professor Musah Presents at Pittcon
Professor Musah gave a talk at Pittcon in Chicago, IL. Her presentation was titled "Application of Direct Analysis in Real Time-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry to the Identification of Psychotropic Plants".
Professor Musah Presents at University at Albany, SUNY-POLY/UAlbany Research Symposium
Professor Musah gave a talk at the University at Albany, SUNY-POLY/UAlbany Research Symposium titled "Molecular Self-Assembly of Unnatural Amino Acids”.
Professor Musah Presents at Wood Identification Conference
Professor Musah gave a talk at the Wood Identification Conference in Seattle, WA. Her talk was in the Development and Scaling of Innovative Technologies for Wood Identification section and was titled "Direct Analysis in Real Time-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry as a Tool for Rapid Plant Species Identification-Applications to Endangered Species Characterization".
Professor Musah Presents at AAFS
Professor Musah gave a talk at the American Academy of Forensic Science Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA. Her presentation was titled "Toward Development of a Mass Spectrometric Database for Rapid Identification of Plant Drugs of Abuse Using Ambient Ionization Mass Spectrometry".
Professor Musah Presents at Chemistry Department Seminar.
Professor Musah delivered a special seminar talk to the students and faculty of the Chemistry Department at the University at Albany-SUNY. Her talk was titled "Studies of Chemical Defense in Plants: Strategies, Mechanisms and Applications" and was a culmination of many years of ongoing research within her laboratory.
Meghan Fogerty Joins the Musah Lab
Graduate student Meghan Fogerty joins the Musah Research Lab. She comes to us after completing her Master's Degree at the University of Haven.
Professor Musah Presents at Eastern Analytical Symposium
Professor Musah gave a talk titled "Laser Ablation Direct Analysis in Real-Time Mass Spectrometry - A New Approach to Imaging the Spatial Distributions of Small-Molecules in Complex Matrices". The conference was held in Somerset, NJ.