Birgitta Ryback

Portfolio

About

I am a mass spectrometrist and metabolism scientist specializing in the analysis of small molecules, metabolites, lipids, and proteins. My expertise lies in bottom-up metabolomics and lipidomics, where I not only design advanced mass spectrometry workflows but also develop custom software solutions to streamline data processing. I work at the intersection of analytical chemistry and computational biology, developing and validating high-resolution LC-MS/MS methods for drug discovery, biomolecule characterization, and affinity selection projects. My approach combines targeted and untargeted mass spectrometry techniques to deliver high-quality insights that support multidisciplinary life science research.

With a strong background in data analysis using Python, I ensure accurate interpretation of high-resolution mass spectrometry data to drive data-driven decision-making. As a subject matter expert in drug and endogenous metabolism, I provide strategic insights that enhance compound screening technologies and improve the integration of metabolomics, proteomics, and transcriptomics data.

Affiliations

Lead Scientist | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Lead, design, and execute diverse small molecule projects
Researcher | ETH Zurich
Pre- and postdoctoral research in bacterial vitamin metabolism

LC/MS resources

I'm a contributor and author at Bioanalytical Bees

Bioanalytical Bees is a collection of tutorials, opinion pieces, and deep dives about small molecule mass spectometry aimed at a wide audience. Received an LC/MS dataset from a collaborator and not sure what to do with it? Inherited an instrument as a lab duty and need to get up to speed with setting up methods and analyzing data? An experienced analyst and want a second opinion on how to approach an LC/MS problem? Check this resource out.

Publications

Much of my lead scientist work was in bacterial metabolism, where I discovered a new futile (?) cycle in E. coli as well as a handful of bacteria isolated from nature (Ryback et al, 2023), and explored adaptations to loss of vitamin biosynthesis (Ryback et al. 2022), As a technology expert, I usually work collaboratively to design creative bioanalytical strategies for diverse areas of metabolism and biomedical sciences. To highlight some of my recent published works, I set up workflows and targeted panels to investigate mitochondrial function and exercise performance (Sprenger et al, 2025 and Langston et al, 2023) I've developed methods for trace analysis in human plasma too explore chemotherapy-induced neuropathy biomarkers (Knoerl et al, 2024), and helped figure out mechanisms for dynamic interactions within microbial communities (Hemmerle et al, 2022).

Explore my published scientific work below.

Ergothioneine controls mitochondrial function and exercise performance via direct activation of MPST
Hans-Georg Sprenger, Melanie J. Mittenbühler, Yizhi Sun, Jonathan G. Van Vranken, Sebastian Schindler, Abhilash Jayaraj, Sumeet A. Khetarpal, Amanda L. Smythers, Ariana Vargas-Castillo, Anna M. Puszynska, Jessica B. Spinelli, Andrea Armani, Tenzin Kunchok, Birgitta Ryback, Hyuk-Soo Seo, Kijun Song, Luke Sebastian, Coby O’Young, Chelsea Braithwaite, Sirano Dhe-Paganon, Bruce M. Spiegelman. Cell Metabolism. 2025
Exploring clinical markers of Axon degeneration processes in Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy among young adults receiving vincristine or paclitaxel
Knoerl R., Mazzola E., Pazyra-Murphy M., Ryback B., Frazier A. L., Freeman R., Hammer, M., LaCasce A., Ligibel J., Luskin M., Berry D., and Segal R. BMC Neurol. 2024
Regulatory T cells shield muscle mitochondria from interferon-γ–mediated damage to promote the beneficial effects of exercise
Langston P. K., Sun Y., Ryback B. A., Mueller A. L., Spiegelman B. M., Benoist C, and Mathis D. Science Immunology. 2023
Coenzyme biosynthesis in response to precursor availability reveals incorporation of β-alanine from pantothenate in prototrophic bacteria
Ryback B & Vorholt JA. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2023
Metabolic adaptation to auxotrophy in leaf microbiota members
Ryback B, Bortfeld-Miller M & Vorholt JA. Isme J. 2022
Dynamic character displacement among a pair of bacterial phyllosphere commensals in situ
Hemmerle L, Maier B, Bortfeld-Miller M, Ryback B, Ackermann M & Vorholt JA. Nature Communications. 2022
Moderate-to-strong expression of FGFR3 and TP53 alterations in a subpopulation of choroid plexus tumors
Granberg KJ, Raita A, Lehtinen B, Tiihonen AM, Kesseli J, Annala M, Rodriguez-Martinez A, Nordfors K, Zhang W, Visakorpi T, Nykter M, Haapasalo H. Histol Histopathol. 2020
A High-throughput workflow for CRISPR/Cas9 mediated combinatorial promoter replacements and phenotype characterization in yeast
Kuivanen J, Holmström S, Lehtinen B, Penttilä M, Jäntti J. Biotechnol J. 2018
Clinical association analysis of ependymomas and pilocytic astrocytomas reveals elevated FGFR3 and FGFR1 expression in aggressive ependymomas
Lehtinen B, Raita A, Kesseli J, Annala M, Nordfors K, Yli-Harja O, Zhang W, Visakorpi T, Nykter M, Haapasalo H, Granberg KJ. BMC Cancer. 2017
Strong FGFR3 staining is a marker for FGFR3 fusions in diffuse gliomas
Granberg KJ, Annala M, Lehtinen B, Kesseli J, Haapasalo J, Ruusuvuori P, Yli-Harja O, Visakorpi T, Haapasalo H, Nykter M, Zhang W. Neuro Oncol. 2017
A model of the spatio-temporal dynamics of Drosophila eye disc development
Fried P, Sánchez-Aragón M, Aguilar-Hidalgo D, Lehtinen B, Casares F, Iber D. PLoS Comput Biol. 2016