Michael Christopher was awarded the NIH F31 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Cancer Institute in December 2024. Michael is a PhD candidate in the analytical chemistry division co-mentored by Dr.’s Timothy Garrett and Boone Prentice. Prior to joining the Dr. Garrett and Dr. Prentice labs in 2021, Michael studied biochemistry at North Carolina State University (NCSU). While at NCSU, Michael was first introduced to mass spectrometry in a graduate-level course taught by Dr. Erin Baker. Inspired by the topic, he then interned at Berkeley Lab under Dr. Edward Baidoo analyzing microbial metabolism. Returning to Dr. Baker’s lab for more undergraduate research, Michael broadened his knowledge by assisting in lipidomic research. At the University of Florida, Michael’s PhD research utilized liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry to investigate the metabolism and behavior of indole pyruvate metabolism, a tautomeric metabolite in tryptophan metabolism. With support from the F31 award, Michael will continue to develop techniques to identify and characterize natural, biomedically relevant, indole/tryptamine containing compounds. Compounds with tryptamine and or indole substructures, specifically psilocin from psychoactive mushrooms, are shown to help curb substance use disorders. Methods that can rapidly screen and characterize natural sources for these compounds will therefore hold promise in fighting substance use disorders, a goal of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Michael credits all his past and present academic mentors, family and friends, and lab members for their invaluable support. His goal is to pursue entrepreneurship upon graduation. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, working out, fishing, and reading about science outside of his field of study.