Charles (Austin) Pickens

Recipient of the Jean Dussault Medal 2024

Dr. C. Austin Pickens earned his B.S. in Nutrition and Dietetics and a Ph.D. in Human Nutrition, where his research centered on applying targeted and untargeted mass spectrometry and bioinformatics to characterize metabolic dysfunction and cancer risk. After completing his graduate training, he joined the Oracle Corporation as a data scientist within the Oracle Cancer Research Cloud before returning to analytical chemistry and public health by joining the CDC’s Biochemical Mass Spectrometry Laboratory in 2017.

Over the next eight years, Dr. Pickens became a leading contributor to newborn-screening innovation. His work includes developing first-tier targeted and untargeted high-resolution mass-spectrometry assays, integrating ultra-fast separations to merge first- and second-tier testing, advancing biomarker harmonization to improve clinical agreement, and multiplexing N-acetyl-tyrosine as a marker of parenteral nutrition administration. He originated, designed, and carried out the development of the first-ever multiplexed first-tier homocysteine screening using selective thiol derivatization, as well as conceived and architected a novel strategy using lysosomal chaperone proteins (Saposin A and LIMPII) to enhance galactosylceramidase activity for Krabbe disease screening.

Dr. Pickens has received multiple top honors at CDC, including the agency-wide Excellence in Laboratory Research Award, and has authored more than 20 peer-reviewed scientific publications.