Alexander A. Aksenov

Assistant Professor

Chemistry

Alexander Aksenov is interested in the study of life at the molecular level. As our scientific understanding of the intricacies of biological mechanisms continues to grow, Aksenov Research Group believes that modern science in this field is only at the beginning of appreciating the molecular diversity of life and the changes that occur in living systems. In this context, metabolomics, the study of small molecule processes, has emerged as an essential tool for exploring the chemical landscape of life. At the chemistry lab located in UCONN, researchers focus on “global” metabolomics, studying living systems in situ and extensively sampling to capture their inherent complexity. In our work, Aksenov Research Group uses mass spectrometry (MS) technology and advanced data analysis approaches to extract chemical knowledge from MS data, exploring living systems’ molecular “dark matter.” These compounds exist but remain unidentified.