Dominik Schwudke

Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics

Papers

Total Citations

2,593

H-Index

About

Dominik Schwudke has fundamentally advanced the field of lipidomics, pioneering high-throughput methodologies that have become global standards. His most transformative contribution is the development of methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE) for lipid extraction, a technique that dramatically outperformed traditional chloroform-based methods. As detailed in his landmark 2008 paper (2,593 citations), the MTBE protocol enables faster, cleaner, and more reproducible recovery of lipid species from diverse biological samples, eliminating toxic solvents while streamlining workflows for mass spectrometry analysis. This innovation has been instrumental in enabling large-scale, quantitative lipid profiling across cells, fluids, and tissues. Beyond this cornerstone work, Schwudke has made critical contributions to lipid identification algorithms and shotgun lipidomics, helping to establish the analytical frameworks that underpin modern metabolomics. His research has directly impacted our understanding of lipid metabolism in health and disease, from infectious diseases to metabolic disorders. As a group leader at the Research Center Borstel, he continues to drive the development of next-generation lipidomic tools, cementing his reputation as a leader in the systematic, high-resolution analysis of the lipidome.