Daniel Petras, an assistant professor of biochemistry at UC Riverside, has been awarded a 2026 ASMS Research Award by the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS). The honor was presented during the 74th ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, held May 31-June 4 in San Diego.
The ASMS Research Award is one of the most competitive early-career honors in the field of mass spectrometry. The award recognizes innovative academic research and supports scientists within the first four years of a tenure-track or research faculty appointment at a North American university. Each year, ASMS presents three Research Awards, providing $35,000 in research support to each recipient.
The recognition from ASMS highlights the contributions of Petras and his team to the rapidly evolving field of metabolomics as well as his leadership in biochemical and environmental research.
“I am very honored and humbled to receive the ASMS Research Award,” Petras said. “This recognition is especially meaningful coming from the leading society in our field, with many of the scientists I look up to in the list of former awardees.”
Funded by Bruker, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Waters Corporation, the awards are independently administered by ASMS, and recipient selection is conducted without influence from the sponsoring companies. The award is widely regarded as a significant recognition for emerging leaders in mass spectrometry and highlights promising new directions in the field.
Petras joined UCR in 2024 and founded the Functional Metabolomics Lab. His research integrates mass spectrometry, computational metabolomics, and microbial ecology to investigate how small molecules influence interactions within microbial communities and environmental systems.
Petras earned his doctoral degree in biochemistry from the Technical University of Berlin. He completed postdoctoral research at UC San Diego, before leading an independent research group at the University of Tübingen. His research focuses on advancing analytical technologies to study chemical exchange in microbial communities in human and environmental contexts.
The ASMS is the premier professional organization for scientists involved in mass spectrometry and related topics.