Richard Dale Smith is a chemist and a Battelle Fellow and chief scientist within the biological sciences division, as well as the director of proteomics research at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).
By the end of the 1990s, Smith's achievements included the electrodynamic ion funnel and a micro-dialysis device for the rapid purification of samples analyzed using mass spectrometry.
[16][17] More recent work has centered on extending application of these proteomics technologies to mammalian systems, which pose additional challenges due to their much greater complexity.
Plasma proteome measurements potentially can provide the basis for discovery of protein biomarkers or signatures for virtually every disease state.
Smith has led other advances in sensitivity and accuracy that have improved the ability to find rare proteins, bringing proteomics technology to the doorstep of clinical researchers.
Smith a principal investigator at NIH Biomedical Technology Resource Center for Integrative Biology[19] and the U.S. Department of Energy High Throughput Proteomics Facility at PNNL.
Smith serves on the Board of Scientific Counselors,[21] Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[23] In 2011, Discover Magazine selected a peer-reviewed paper on Lyme disease that he coauthored with immunologist Steven Schutzer of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey as one of the top 100 articles of the year, placing it at number 90.
[18] He has also received ten R&D 100 Awards: Combined Orthogonal Mobility & Mass Evaluation Technology (2013); Ion Mobility Spectrometer on a Microchip (2010); Ultrasensitive Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry Source and Interface (2009); FT-MS Proteome Express (2003); Electrodynamic Ion Funnel (1999); Rapid Microdialyzer (1998); MICLEAN/MICARE Process (1998); Rapid Expansion of Supercritical Fluid Solutions Process (1988); Capillary Electrophoresis-Electrospray Ionization-MS (1988); and Supercritical Fluid Chromatography-MS (1983).