Staff
Dr. Mary Kinsel earned her PhD. in Analytical Chemistry under the instruction of Professor David H. Russell at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. She has 30 years of industrial and academic experience in the application of mass spectrometry to the characterization of biological samples.
Dr. Kinsel joined the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Sciences at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale in 2005 as Director of the Mass Spectrometry Facility. In the fall 2018 she joined Mandy Rothert in the on-site stable isotope instrumentation course delivered by Isomass Scientific Inc. In August 2025 Dr. Kinsel was appointed as Director, BioLaunch Core Instrumation in the Gower Translational Research Center while continuing to oversee the operation of the Mass Spectrometry Core.
Amanda 'Mandy' Rothert earned her M.S. in Zoology under the instruction of Professor Michael Lydy at Southern Illinois University in 2010. That same year she joined the SIU Core Facility for Ecological Analysis where she was primarily responsible for instrumental analysis. Mandy joined the SIU Mass Spectrometry Facility in 2018 where she has received on-site instrument specific training on the Delta V Plus and associated peripherals under the guidance of Dr. April Vuletich (Isomass Scientific Inc.) as well as additional training on the Costech ECS 4010 and Thermo Scientific TC/EA under the guidance of Thermo Fisher Scientific personnel. She is responsible for all stable isotope analysis in addition to establishing sample preparation and analysis protocols. She joined the Fermentation Science Institute in 2019 where she is responsible for the FSI Service Laboratory for testing Beer, Wine, and Distilled Spirits.
Chloe Hillyer earned her B.S. in Chemistry from Christian Brothers University in the Spring of 2024. She arrived at Southern Illinois University in the Fall of 2024 and joined the Kinsel laboratory in the Spring of 2025. Chloe currently works with the ICP-MS, where she is gaining experience in sample preparation, sample analysis and instrument operation. She enjoys building her knowledge of various analytical techniques and strengthening her ability to troubleshoot instrumentation.