PNNL

Abstract

When you ask Mary Lipton what her strengths are, she quickly responds with her personality type. “I'm an Expressive,” she says, aptly punctuating her words with her hands. “The plus side is that I communicate and collaborate well, and I look at the bigger picture. On the other hand, I don’t concentrate on details. But I can incorporate the details into a larger vision.” Regardless of how they are perceived, these traits have served Lipton well as a scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. She’s nationally recognized for applying new mass spectrometry-based technologies to characterize environmental microbes and microbial communities, particularly for their use in generating biofuels. “I work on biofuels because at some point, everyone pays for the high cost of fuel. It affects all of us, whether directly at the gas pump or by higher food and materials costs,” says Lipton. Lipton categorizes her biofuels research area as environmental proteomics, which she defines as the application of advanced protein-based techniques to understanding environmental and biological systems. But she’s quick to note that environmental proteomics doesn’t just aid development of new biofuels, but also helps further understanding of the impact of climate change and the use of organisms for bioremediation.