Richard M. Caprioli received his B.S. in 1965 from Columbia University in New York, N.Y., his Ph.D. in 1969 in Biochemistry, also at Columbia University with Professor David Rittenberg. He did a one-year postdoctoral fellowship at Purdue University with Professor John H. Beynon. Dr. Caprioli is the Stanley Cohen Professor of Biochemistry and Director of the Mass Spectrometry Research Center at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He is also currently Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University. He has over 150 peer-reviewed publications in major biological and chemistry journals.

Professor Caprioli has been the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Mass Spectrometry since 1990. He is the Co-Editor of the Encyclopedia of Mass Spectrometry (Elsevier). In 2003, Dr. Caprioli received the Thomson Medal Award from the International Mass Spectrometry Society for “for outstanding achievements in mass spectrometry and for distinguished service to international mass spectrometry.” He received the Field and Franklin Award for Contributions to Mass Spectrometry from the American Chemical Society in April, 2006.

Professor Caprioli is interested in the use of mass spectrometry for the analysis of compounds in biological systems. Current work includes the use of electrospray and laser desorption ionization methods with biological tissues and samples. Applications to specific research areas involve questions about certain spatial distributions of molecules within specific tissues, e.g., mapping proteins in cancer tissue. Specific applications include human glioblastomas, aberrant mouse colon crypts, and mouse prostate tumors.