NSERC Prizes
Brockhouse Canada Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering

David Wishart, Russell Greiner

David Wishart, a distinguished researcher specializing in structural biology and metabolomics, collaborates with Russell Greiner, a Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) AI chair who is an expert in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Together, these University of Alberta researchers and their labs have revolutionized the natural sciences and engineering by integrating these very different disciplines into cutting-edge research.

Since 2001, Wishart and Greiner have pioneered the application of machine learning in metabolomics and cheminformatics. Their innovative methods and projects, such as the Human Metabolome Project (HMP), the Human Metabolome Database (HMDB) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectral deconvolution for metabolomics, have significantly advanced the study of metabolites—the molecules crucial for metabolism—across various fields, including clinical chemistry and environmental testing.

One of their most notable achievements is the development of CFM-ID, a breakthrough algorithm that predicts mass spectrometry spectra of small molecules with unprecedented accuracy. This has not only enhanced metabolite identification, but also paved the way for new discoveries in natural product research.

In the future, their research promises to streamline metabolite analysis and novel compound identification, potentially leading to advancements in personalized medicine, environmental monitoring, and drug development. By integrating chemistry and biochemistry with advanced computing, Wishart and Greiner continue to shape the future of scientific inquiry and its many practical applications.

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