The Medical University of South Carolina requests funds to purchase a Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometer Scimax to support NIH-funded glycomic, lipidomic, and proteomic imaging mass spectrometry experiments from nine users and two program projects. These investigators form a unique research nexus focused on understanding disease signatures of glycosylation, sphingolipid signaling and collagen regulation. The group leverages the fundamental concept that imaging mass spectrometry tools and equipment can be used to scan any solid surface to rapidly probe molecular expression. This has allowed our user group to combine array-based imaging of small volumes of biofluids and array-based imaging of small numbers of cells with tissue imaging to understand mechanisms of N-glycosylation, ceramide signaling and collagen type turnover and post-translational modification. The group has a strong synergistic research program of new analytical tool development that is immediately used to answer critical questions on cancer disparities, prognosis or diagnosis of cancer, immune response, oxidative stress imbalance, metabolic deregulation, protein misfolding, sphingosine trafficking, reactive stroma, and markers of transplant failure. Importantly, this work is primarily done on human tissues, so that it is immediately applicable towards understanding human disease research and can be applied to clinical trials. The current FT-ICR instrument was installed in 2012 and runs at capacity 24/7. This instrument is aging and has significant downtime for repairs. The new instrument will allow our investigators to jump forward to state-of-the-art technology with 1) increased acquisition speeds, 2) increased sensitivity, 3) increased mass resolving power, and 4) multiple fragmentation capabilities that can be directly coupled to identification strategies for imaging workflows. We have identified the Scimax Magnetic Resonance Mass Spectrometer as the FT-ICR imaging mass spectrometer that will best suit the needs of our research group. Our institutional support is strong and our group has combined decades of expertise in biomedical studies by FT-ICR. Obtaining the Scimax will allow us to continue our highly productive and unique NIH-funded research on mechanisms of glycomics, lipidomics, and collagen proteomics.