Metabolomics
TMPL is the resource center at UAB for studies in metabolomics. It formally supports investigators in the UAB Lung Health Center, the UAB-UCSD O’Brien Center for Acute Kidney Injury and individual NIH-funded investigators. TMPL is also available to other investigators wanting to get metabolomics preliminary data for grant applications. See a generic data policy document required for all new NIH grants.
Contacts: Stephen Barnes, PhD (sbarnes@uab.edu)
- What is metabolomics and the metabolome?
- Consultation before analysis
- A course on metabolomics
Recent publications from TMPL
LC-MS/MS method for proline-glycine-proline and acetylated proline-glycine-proline in human plasma
Ekta Tiwary, Taylor F Berryhill, Landon Wilson, Stephen Barnes, Jeevan K Prasain, J Michael Wells
J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2023 Jul 5;1228:123815. PMID: 37453387 doi: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2023.123815 Online ahead of print.
In a collaborative study between TMPL and the UAB Lung Health Center (Dr. Michael Wells), Dr. Ekta Tiwary and colleagues have developed an isotope dilution LC-MSMS method for the quantitative analysis in human plasma of the collagen-derived tripeptide (prolylglycylproline – PGP) and its acetylated metabolite, Ac-PGP. The method followed the US FDA Bioanalytical Method Validation Guidelines and has been shown to be sensitive, selective, reproducible and robust. The stability of PGP and AcPGP was >90% in tested conditions including auto-sampler use (at 4oC), storage at −80oC for up to 3 months, and after 6 times freeze–thaw cycles. This advance is vital for studying this important marker of collagen degradation as a biomarker of disease, as plasma is the most widely available specimen type in clinical research. Please contact Dr. Wells for further information.
Mini-Symposium 2020

Polyphenols in regard to COVID-19 research
(April, 10, 2020)
The outbreaks of the COVID-19 viral infections in many countries and the resulting global pandemic have generated a high level of urgency on research for compounds that prevent this virus being taken up into cells, interfere with viral replication and prevent the innate immune response that results in cytokine and chemical storms.
Annual Workshop on Metabolomics
Annual Workshops on Metabolomics have been held from 2013-2018 on the campus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, jointly sponsored by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) as part of the NIH Common Fund Metabolomics Initiative, and the Departments of Chemistry and Pharmacology and Toxicology at UAB.
About TMPL
The Targeted Metabolomics and Proteomics Laboratory (TMPL) is organized to provide a variety of analytical and technical services using mass spectrometry to UAB investigators.