Equipment: MRI: Track 1 Acquisition of an Orbitrap Exploris 240 High-Resolution LC-MS for Research, Education, and Outreach at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM)

An award is made to the University of Southern Mississippi to acquire a state-of-the-art high-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer system. The instrument will allow graduate and undergraduate students to gain marketable skills in high-resolution mass spectrometry. Acquisition of the instrument will advance the educational experiences of undergraduate and graduate students by enhancing their ability to conduct research in a broad range of projects of biological and chemical significance. The University of Southern Mississippi will use the instrument for outreach to local high schools to expose students to the various STEM career opportunities and the importance of scientific literacy in society. The research this instrument will support helps advance our understanding of the fundamental science in various biological processes. The instrument will allow the study of these biological processes and the proposing of new hypotheses that can provide insight into the development of bio-inspired materials, parasite-driven food allergies, and the role of peptides in osteoporosis. Other uses of the instrument will include the study of reaction mechanisms in new catalytic processes to aid in the synthesis of important molecules and to develop new molecular sensors to identify chemicals that are toxic to the environment. This project is jointly funded by MRI, the Major Instrumentation Research Program, and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.