Scientific advancements have expanded the face of human health. Where there was once treatment of symptoms and guesswork about the cause of disease, there is now prevention and prediction of disease onset.

PNNL biomedical researchers study cancer biology, infectious diseases caused by viruses or bacteria, and other diseases, such as diabetes, that are fundamentally linked to inflammation.

With a better understanding of pathways that maintain or degrade human health, our work informs disease treatment and early detection. It also provides information to guide strategies to mitigate potential health impacts from environmental exposures to chemicals or air pollution. Because our biological expertise is so broad, PNNL can shift research priorities in response to changing national needs.

Advanced ion mobility mass spectrometry and enhanced mass spectrometers at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory provide increased sensitivity, precision, and speed for analyzing blood or tissue samples. Our scientists specialize in the development and use of omics technologies, such as metabolomics, lipidomics, and nanoscale proteomics, to gain an unprecedented look at cellular function at the molecular level. The result is massive amounts of data that demand powerful computational tools available at PNNL to understand the results.

PNNL’s biomedical research helps anchor the Laboratory’s biology capabilities and complements its environmental research. Whether our researchers are studying the human body or environmental systems, they dissect the inner workings of biological systems one molecule and one process at a time.