Research Overview

Stepan B. Melnyk started at ACRI in 2003 and is currently the Metabololomics Core Laboratory Director. Dr. Melnyk’s most recent and important productive research approach is closely related to the research of Autism. The research team work started two decades ago, working in the very innovative at that time, scientific approach of metabolic and genomics interactions.  Dr. Melnyk  is author and coauthor on more than 120 publications in scientific journals, has worked on more than 15 grants (NIH, NIHCD, DoD, privet and ABI) and has become a respected expert in this field. More than 10 years ago the team started work on Autism in Arkansas and brought this research to a new level, initiating much higher awareness to local parents, communities and state officials.

Dr. Melnyk is Director of the Core Metabolomics Laboratory (CML). The main goal of this laboratory is to stimulate and develop collaborative initiatives with an emphasis on investigators who are in the beginning of their research career. The CLM has successful experience working and helping numerous researchers from local (ACRI, UAMS, and NCTR), national (UCD, UNC, and UCLA) and international research communities and maintains a highly respected reputation.

Dr. Melnyk’s scientific interests include:

• Work on development of new biomarkers of oxidatively and nitrosatively damaged small molecules utilizing of MS-LC, HPLC-ECD, HPLC-UV, Corona (universal charged aerosol detector) analytical techniques;
• Metabolomics approach for identification of biomarkers in numerous diseases, including Autism and Down syndrome and  creation of ACM Laboratory Metabolomics Library for these syndromes; and
• The modification of DNA bases on different stages of pathological conditions and development of new diagnostic biomarkers.