University of Missouri

Biography

Lloyd W. Sumner acquired his BSc degree in chemistry with a minor in mathematics in 1989 from Cameron University in Lawton, OK, USA, and a PhD in analytical chemistry focused on mass spectrometry in 1993 from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK, USA. He then joined Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, where he was the Director of the Mass Spectrometry Applications Laboratory and where he later served as the cofounder and Associate Director of the TAMU Laboratory for Biological Mass Spectrometry with Prof. David H Russell. He joined the Noble Foundation in 1999 and rose to the rank of Professor within the Plant Biology Division. Dr. Sumner relocated to the University of Missouri, Columbia in January 2016 as a Professor in the Biochemistry Department and Director of the new University of Missouri Metabolomics Center. His laboratory is housed in the Bond Life Sciences Center, and he is affiliated with the MU Interdisciplinary Plant Group.

Dr. Sumner’s research is focused on the development, integration and application of large-scale biochemical profiling of plant metabolites, proteins, and transcripts (metabolomics, proteomics and transcriptomics) for the discovery and characterization of the molecular and biochemical components related to the biosynthesis of plant natural products/specialized metabolites. He also actively applies these integrated omics technologies in a collaborative manner for greater insight into health and disease in a large number of species, including humans. A current focal area is cancer. Dr. Sumner has published over 180 peer-reviewed articles/book chapters and has an h-index of 74. The Sumner lab is highly collaborative and many of these publications are with leading national and international collaborators. Dr. Sumner’s research is or has been supported by the University of Missouri, the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, NSF 2010, NSF Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, NSF Major Research Instrumentation program, NSF-JST joint Metabolomics for a Low Carbon Society, NSF Integrative Organismal Systems, NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH National Center for Complimentary and Integrated Health, and The Oklahoma Commission for the Advancement of Science and Technology.

Dr. Sumner is currently a Fellow of The American Association for the Advancement of Science; former President of the Phytochemical Society of North America (2014-2017), former Treasurer (2010-2012) and President (2008-2010) of the Metabolomics Society; 2013 Lifetime Honorary Fellow of the Metabolomics Society; Board of Directors Member of the Metabolomics Association of North America (MANA, 2018-2024); Co-founding Member of the International Advisory Committee for Plant Metabolomics; Principal investigator of a former Plant, Algae, and Microbial Metabolomics Research Coordination Network (PAMM-NET), and a 2007 Distinguished Alumni of Cameron University. Dr. Sumner has served as a Managing Editor for Plant Physiology, Front Pages Co-Editor and Editorial Board member for the journal Metabolomics, Associate Editor of Frontiers in Plant Metabolism and Chemical Diversity, and review Editor for several plant and metabolomics-related Frontiers journals.