Robert T Kennedy

 portrait of Robert T. Kennedy
Hobart H Willard Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry
Professor of Chemistry
College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Professor of Pharmacology
Medical School
Email:
[email protected]
Available to mentor
Robert T Kennedy
portrait of Robert T. Kennedy
Professor
  • About
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  • Qualifications
  • Center Memberships
  • Research Overview
  • Recent Publications

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    • About

    Robert Kennedy is a Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacology. His research interests are in bioanalytical chemistry with an emphasis on microfluidics, mass spectrometry, chromatography, and electrophoresis. He develops these methods to study neurotransmitter dynamics in vivo, hormone secretion, and for high-throughput experimentation.

    Links
    • My Background

    Qualifications
    • PhD
      University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, United States
      1984 - 1988

    Center Memberships
    • Center Member
      Caswell Diabetes Institute

    Research Overview

    We develop and apply bioanalytical methods for studying hormone and neurtransmitter secretion. We develop microfluidic chips to culture cells and integrate methods to measure releasate. We also coupling sampling probes to analytical methods for in vivo brain chemical measurements. We develop metabolomics methods for studying biological systems. We have focused LC-MS/MS, capillary electrophoresis, and sensors for analysis. We have applied to study of islets of Langerhans and various rodent models in the brain.

    Recent Publications

     See All Publications
    • Preprint
      Examining roles of varying synthesis and assembly conditions on the incorporation of complex multi-lipid extracts into membrane scaffold protein nanodiscs
      Sarcinella MC, Vajrala A, Edgcombe SA, Jones JD, Anderson BG, Evans CR, Ruotolo BT, Kennedy RT, Bailey RC. 2026 Sep 27; ChemRxiv, DOI:10.26434/chemrxiv.15009419/v1
    • Journal Article
      Comparison of ultrahigh- and low-pressure packing methods for preparation of 50 cm long capillary UHPLC columns.
      Hancock TA, Kennedy RT. J Chromatogr A, 2026 Sep 4; 1787: 467400 DOI:10.1016/j.chroma.2026.467400
      PMID: 42697005
    • Preprint
      Deep in vivo brain metabolomics maps vulnerability-associated and cocaine-induced neurochemical states
      Cain CN, Popov P, Oliver NM, López JCV, Evans CR, Hebda-Bauer EK, Akil H, Kennedy RT. 2026 Aug 21; bioRxiv, DOI:10.64898/2026.08.14.744954
    • Journal Article
      High-Throughput Screening of Isomeric Reaction Products by Droplet Microfluidics Coupled to Cyclic Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry
      Penabad LI, Diehl RC, Olman A, Unger MJ, Somerville TD, Vázquez López JC, Cain CN, Chakrabarty S, Murray LAM, Armbruster MR, Vargas Figueroa A, Xu Z, Ruotolo BT, Narayan ARH, Kennedy RT. Analytical Chemistry, 2026 Jul 14; 98 (27): 20442 - 20452. DOI:10.1021/acs.analchem.6c02164
    • Preprint
      Integrating mass spectrometry with Nanopore direct RNA sequencing for de novo modification profiling of bacteriophage MS2.
      Jones JD, Ghohabi Esfahani N, Goemann CL, Wiegand T, Nemudryi A, Ruan M, Li X, Tardu M, Kennedy RT, Wiedenheft B, Jain M, Koutmou KS. 2026 Jun 2; DOI:10.64898/2026.06.01.729303
      PMID: 42282622
    • Journal Article
      Utilizing Venturi effect for automated high-throughput droplet-MS from well plates
      Murray BE, Diehl RC, Pott M, Holland-Moritz DA, Narayan ARH, Kennedy RT. Analyst, 2026 May 5; 151 (9): 2533 - 2543. DOI:10.1039/d6an00065g
      PMID: 41837496
    • Journal Article
      A 3-D Printed Millifluidic Reactor for Continuous Flow Photocatalysis in the Teaching Laboratory
      Snyder RT, Wortman AK, Xin Y, Penabad LI, Rich LC, Schindler CS, Kennedy RT, Stephenson CRJ. Journal of Chemical Education, 2026 Mar 10; 103 (3): 1525 - 1529. DOI:10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c01125
    • Journal Article
      Rapid analysis of terpenes produced by fermentation using flow injection analysis coupled to APCI MS
      Murray BE, Pott M, Beekwilder J, Kennedy RT. Analytical Methods, 2026 Feb 12; 18 (6): 1316 - 1324. DOI:10.1039/d5ay02027a
      PMID: 41615198