Faculty

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Shuai Nie, PhD

Associate Professor of Research,

Department of Biochemistry & Physiology,

Director for Mass Spectrometry

(405) 271-8001

Dr. Nie is an analytical scientist with extensive knowledge and experience in the development and application of mass spectrometry–based methods to address biological questions. He completed his Ph.D. in bioanalytical mass spectrometry at Michigan State University in 2015, which laid the foundation for his subsequent role as a Research Fellow and Lipidomics Lead in the Melbourne Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility (MMSPF) at the Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne. During his time at MMSPF, he also served as a Lipidomics Data Analysis Consultant from 2019 to 2020 for an ASX‑listed biotech company, contributing to the development of early diagnostic assays for breast cancer.

From 2023 to 2025, he joined a leading ISO‑17025–accredited analytical testing company as Head of R&D. In this role, his work focused on method development using various separation techniques (GC/LC/IC), mass spectrometry, and solid‑phase extraction to analyze a wide range of analytes, including lipids, mycotoxins, amino acids, organic acids, and other metabolites across diverse matrices. He also gained extensive experience in the design and reporting of extractable and leachable (E&L) studies for medical devices, food packaging, and other commercial products requiring E&L assessments for regulatory compliance.

In October 2025, Dr. Nie joined OUHSC as the inaugural Director of the Lipidomics and Metabolomics Mass Spectrometry Facility and as an Associate Professor of Research. To date, he has authored or co‑authored more than 70 peer‑reviewed publications in high‑impact journals, including Cell, Science, and Nature, and has contributed to securing nearly $2 million in research funding as an associate investigator.

Education:

Year Degree/Position Institution

2015 Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan

2011 B.Sc. in Chemistry, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China

Clinical/Research Interests:

Study of Disease Mechanisms by Untargeted Lipidomics/Metabolomics

Aiming to improve drug development and treatment strategies, Dr. Nie has been developing methods in lipidomics and metabolomics and applying them in an unbiased manner to investigate molecular mechanisms in diseases and physiological processes. The specific areas of method development include lipid extraction, chemical derivatization, chromatography separation, mass spectrometry, and bioinformatics analysis. His work in these areas has led to peer-reviewed publications in various fields, such as infectious disease, neurodegenerative disease, liver disease and cancer.

Ultra-sensitive Analysis of Bioactive Metabolites at Trace Level

Many bioactive metabolites, especially signaling lipids, play an important role in the onset and progression of diseases. Sensitive and accurate monitoring of these small molecules, mostly at trace level, are critical in the study of disease mechanisms, drug discovery and development. The interests in the Nie lab also extend to LC-MS/MS-based profiling of bioactive metabolites at trace level. Specialized methods in analyte extraction, separation, and MS data acquisition to reduce background noise and boost detection sensitivity have been developed and applied to various sample types including biofluids, cell cultures and tissues.

Identification of Unknown Small Molecules by High Resolution MS

A major challenge in lipidomics, metabolomics, and exposomics (i.e., the analysis of small molecules associated with chemical exposures such as PFAS) is identifying the vast number of compounds that are detected but not represented in current tandem MS libraries or by available commercial standards. Dr. Nie’s lab has been developing integrated workflows that leverage high‑resolution mass spectrometry, iterative‑exclusion data acquisition, and machine‑learning‑based informatics tools to identify biologically or environmentally relevant unknown small molecules.

Select Publications:

Xiaoxiao Jia, Jeremy Chase Crawford, Deborah Gebregzabher, Ebony A Monson, Robert C Mettelman, Yanmin Wan, Yanqin Ren, Janet Chou, Tanya Novak, Hayley A McQuilten, Michele Clarke, Annabell Bachem, Isabelle J Foo, Svenja Fritzlar, Julio Carrera Montoya, Alice M Trenerry, Shuai Nie, et al. ‘High Expression of Oleoyl-ACP Hydrolase Underpins Life-Threatening Respiratory Viral Diseases’. Cell, 187, 17, (2024): 4586–4604.

Adrianna M Turner, Lucy Li, Ian R Monk, Jean YH Lee, Danielle J Ingle, Stephanie Portelli, Norelle L Sherry, Nicole Isles, Torsten Seemann, Liam K Sharkey, Calum J Walsh, Gavin E Reid, Shuai Nie, et al. ‘Rifaximin Prophylaxis Causes Resistance to the Last-Resort Antibiotic Daptomycin’. Nature, 635, 8040, (2024): 969-977.

Magdalene K Montgomery, Jacqueline Bayliss, Shuai Nie, William De Nardo, Stacey N Keenan, Marziyeh Anari, Amanuiel Z Taddese, Nicholas A Williamson, Geraldine J Ooi, Wendy A Brown, Paul R Burton, Paul Gregorevic, Craig A Goodman, Kevin I Watt, Matthew J Watt. ‘Liver-Secreted Hexosaminidase A Regulates Insulin-like Growth Factor Signaling and Glucose Transport in Skeletal Muscle’. Diabetes 72, 6, (2023): 715–727.

Stanley C Xie, Riley D Metcalfe, Elyse Dunn, Craig J Morton, Shih-Chung Huang, Tanya Puhalovich, Yawei Du, Sergio Wittlin, Shuai Nie, et al. ‘Reaction Hijacking of Tyrosine tRNA Synthetase as a New Whole-of-Life-Cycle Antimalarial Strategy’. Science 376, 6597, (2022): 1074–1079.

Shuai Nie, Cassie J Fhaner, Sichang Liu, David Peake, Reiko Kiyonami, Yingying Huang, Gavin E Reid. ‘Characterization and Multiplexed Quantification of Derivatized Aminophospholipids’. International Journal of Mass Spectrometry 391, (2015): 71–81.

Link to full publication list:

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=RCC4OUAAAAAJ&hl=en