In a significant recognition of early-career excellence, Assistant Professor Varun Gadkari from the University of Minnesota’s Department of Chemistry has been selected to receive the 2025 Research Award by the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS). The honor comes with a grant of $35,000, designated solely for Gadkari’s research pursuits.
This annual award by ASMS is granted to promising academic scientists within their first four years of appointment and is aimed at fostering groundbreaking advancements in the field of mass spectrometry. Dr. Gadkari’s proposal stood out for its innovative plan to push the frontiers of RNA structural analysis. His research focuses on developing covalent labeling techniques using mass spectrometry, a methodology poised to contribute significantly to the evolving domain of RNA-based therapeutics.
Since joining the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities faculty in the fall of 2022, Professor Gadkari has assembled a research group comprising six graduate students and one undergraduate. His lab operates at the cutting edge of bioanalytical chemistry and chemical biology, with a strong emphasis on decoding the structure of biomolecules such as proteins, RNA, and their complexes.
The Gadkari group’s work is highly interdisciplinary, tackling challenges that intersect areas like neurodegenerative diseases, biomolecular interactions, and analytical method development. The ASMS award will further empower the team to delve deeper into pioneering techniques that could have major implications for biomedical research and pharmaceutical development.
This isn’t Gadkari’s first acknowledgement from ASMS. Back in 2020, he was named one of the society’s Emerging Talents in Academia, signaling his early promise in the scientific community.
The American Society for Mass Spectrometry, established in 1969, is an international body with more than 8,500 members representing academic institutions, government agencies, and private industries. ASMS supports the progression of both practical applications and theoretical research in mass spectrometry, with interests spanning fields such as chemistry, biology, geology, forensics, and physics.
As Gadkari embarks on this new chapter of his academic journey, the ASMS award will provide the necessary resources to amplify his lab’s contributions to molecular science and health research.
