At the Annual Meeting of the German Mass Spectrometry Society (DGMS), held in Leipzig during March 10-13, 2026, Prof. Nicole Strittmatter of the TUM School of Natural Sciences was awarded the Mattauch-Herzog Award, one of the most prestigious prizes in analytical sciences. Established in 1988 and endowed by Thermo Fisher Scientific, the award honors outstanding scientific achievements in mass spectrometry made at an early career stage. The prize includes a cash award of €12,500 and a commemorative certificate, presented on March 12, 2026. Prof. Strittmatter was recognized for developments of novel mass spectrometric in situ methods to enable molecular analysis of complex biological samples. 

One such approach was presented in her award lecture, titled “Taxon-specific Markers for Studying Microbial Communities Using Mass Spectrometry (Imaging)”, in which Strittmatter highlighted her work on taxon-specific markers (TSMs). This concept, originally introduced in a publication in Nature Communications (W. Chen et al.), enables the targeted identification and spatial visualization of microorganisms directly in complex samples. Complementary methodological advances include the use of innovative ambient techniques such as a pyrolysis tweezer, in which the generated aerosol is directed into the ion source of a mass spectrometer to enable rapid microbial characterization. 

The impact of this work was further underscored during the conference through related contributions by the scientific community. The TSM concept featured prominently in a plenary lecture by Prof. Manuel Liebeke (Kiel University) and in an award-winning poster by his student Malin Stüwe, demonstrating how a Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (MALDI) based database of gut bacterial profiles can be used to visualize bacteria directly in the gut using MALDI imaging mass spectrometry. Together, these developments highlight the growing influence of Prof. Strittmatter’s research in shaping new approaches for studying microbial communities with mass spectrometry. 

More information and links 

• Prof. Strittmatter’s research group, Analytical Chemistry: https://www.bio.nat.tum.de/ach/prof-nicole-strittmatter/ 
• German Society for Mass Spectrometry (DGMS) Mattauch-Herzog Award https://dgms.eu/en/awards-presented-by-dgms/mattauch-herzog-award/ 
• Prof. Manuel Liebeke’s Metabolomics research group at Kiel University https://www.uni-kiel.de/en/person/liebeke-manuel-58475 
• Thermo Fischer Scientific: https://www.thermofisher.com/de/de/home.html  

Publication 

Universal, untargeted detection of bacteria in tissues using metabolomics workflows. Wei Chen, Min Qiu, Petra Paizs, Nicole Strittmatter, et al. Nature Communications. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-55457-7  

Press contact 

communications@nat.tum.de
Team website