Timothy Griffin

Timothy Griffin, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, where he also serves as Faculty Director of the Center for Metabolomics and Proteomics in the College of Biological Sciences. He additionally directs the Proteogenomics Shared Resource at the Masonic Cancer Center. Griffin earned his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1999, followed by postdoctoral research training in mass spectrometry-based proteomics at the University of Washington and the Institute for Systems Biology from 1999 to 2003. He joined the University of Minnesota in 2003 and has progressed to full professor while leading key research centers. In 2009, he received the McKnight Presidential Fellow award from the university.

Griffin's research centers on the development and application of mass spectrometry-based technologies for the system-wide characterization of proteins and proteomes in cells, tissues, biofluids, and organisms to elucidate biological functions and disease mechanisms. His group advances bioinformatic software tools, including the Galaxy-P platform, to integrate multi-omics data such as genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic information for proteogenomics studies, particularly in cancer progression, treatment responses, and host-microbiome interactions. This interdisciplinary work spans analytical chemistry, computer science, and biochemistry, fostering collaborations with basic and clinical researchers. Key publications include 'Comparative performance of Scribe and database search engines in metaproteomic profiling of a ground-truth microbiome dataset' (Journal of Proteomics, 2026), 'A Clinical Metaproteomics Workflow Implemented within Galaxy Bioinformatics Platform to Analyze Host-Microbiome Interactions Underlying Human Disease' (Journal of Visualized Experiments, 2025), 'Data-Independent Acquisition Mass Spectrometry as a Tool for Metaproteomics: Interlaboratory Comparison Using a Model Microbiome' (Proteomics, 2025), and 'The microbiologist's guide to metaproteomics' (2025). His efforts also emphasize training students and early-career scientists in proteomics and biomedical research.

Professional Email: tgriffin@umn.edu