Dr. Jones’s research interests lie in improving mass spectrometry and separation strategies and applying them to perform global profiling of metabolites. This approach, known as metabolomics, probes the influence of genetics and environment on rates of biosynthesis and degradation of metabolites. Such measurements lie at the heart of systems biology approaches for engineering plants and microorganisms for improved productivity, as biosensors, and as valuable sources of an assortment of bioactive chemicals. Furthermore, the information in the metabolome can be used as biomarkers of stress, toxicity, and disease. His areas of expertise include mass spectrometry, separations, and analytical chemistry; analytical strategies for metabolomics and metabolite profiling; posttranslational modification of proteins in aging, toxicity, and disease; chemical ecology; plant-insect and plant-pathogen interactions; and high-throughput techniques for discovery of bioactive natural products.
Dr. Hui Li is a Professor of Environmental Soil Chemistry in Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University. His research program focuses on occurrence, sorption, transformation, bioavailability and potential impacts of emerging contaminants (pharmaceuticals and personal care products, PFAS), persistent organic contaminants and pesticides in the environment, understanding the fundamental environmental processes at molecular level, plant uptake and accumulation of organic contaminants, and development of innovative remediation technology. Dr. Li’s current PFAS-related research projects mainly include: 1) an EPA-funded team project focusing on PFAS occurrence in biosolids, plant uptake of PFAS from soils amended with biosolids, and analysis of human exposure, 2) a USDA-funded team project focusing on developing mitigation strategies to reduce PFAS accumulation in food crops, and 3) an MTRAC-funded project on development of innovative nano-reactor technology to defluorinate PFAS in water.
