Olga Ilkayeva
Assistant Professor in Medicine

Olga Ilkayeva, Ph.D., is the Director of the Metabolomics Core Laboratory at Duke Molecular Physiology Institute. She received her Ph.D. training in Cell Regulation from UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, TX. Her postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Chris Newgard at Duke University Medical Center focused on lipid metabolism and regulation of insulin secretion. As a research scientist at the Stedman Nutrition and Metabolism Center, Dr. Ilkayeva expanded her studies to include the development of targeted mass spectrometry analyses. Currently, she works on developing and validating quantitative mass spectrometry methods used for metabolic profiling of various biological models with emphasis on diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and the role of gut microbiome in both health and disease.

Current Research Interests

The DMPI Metabolomics Core is a leader in applying both targeted and non-targeted mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolomics to better detect and understand chronic human diseases. The laboratory is equipped with a comprehensive suite of twelve MS instruments (Waters, Agilent, Sciex, and Thermo Fisher) that allow both targeted and non-targeted metabolomics assays to be conducted on a wide array of sample types including plasma, blood spots, tissue, urine, cerebral spinal fluid, and cell culture. For targeted analyses, the lab deploys four triple quadrupole (MS/MS) instruments and a gas chromatography (GC)/MS instrument to measure more than 300 specific metabolites across seven chemical classes: 1) 66 species of acylcarnitines; 2) 47 amino acids and biogenic amines 3) 67 acyl CoAs species; 4) 20 organic acids; 5) 21 ceramides; 6) 34 sphingomyelins, and 7) 36 nucleotides and purine/pyrimidine pathway intermediates. Accurate quantitation of the metabolites in the targeted assays is achieved by using isotope dilution or pseudo-isotope dilution techniques and quality control calibrators derived from biologic matrices and commercially available analytical standards.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Contact Information

  • 300 N Duke St, 48-205, Durham, NC 27701
  • Box 104775, Durham, NC 27710

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