CASSS is excited to announce the winners of the 2026 Mass SpecNext-Generation Investigator (NGI) Award. The focus of the Mass Spec Symposium is the practical application of mass spectrometry (MS) in the biotechnology industry. Next Generation Investigator Awards are an excellent opportunity for graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, and early career industrial scientists to meet, network, and participate in exchanging knowledge with industry peers from across the world with waived registration and grants to offset travel expenses.
The 2026 award winners are Mona Goli, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, Marcel Morgenstern, Johnson & Johnson, and Alexzandrea Woudenberg, Aldevron LLC.
Mona Goli, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine
Mona Goli began their career in mass spectrometry characterization at Johnson & Johnson in early 2025. Mona received her PhD in chemistry from Texas Tech University in August 2022 and subsequently continued as a postdoctoral researcher at Texas Tech from August 2022 to January 2025, focusing on multi-omics characterization of biological systems using advanced LC-MS approaches. Since joining Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine as a Senior Scientist in the Cell Engineering & Analytical Science team, Mona has specialized in LC-MS method development for complex biologics, including multi-specific antibodies.
Marcel Morgenstern, Johnson & Johnson
Marcel Morgenstern is a senior scientist with 10+ years of experience in mass spectrometry, analytical method development, and proteomics. Marcel joined the Proteomics group within Cell Engineering & Analytical Sciences as a Senior Scientist in March 2026, following his postdoctoral training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the laboratory of Professor Joshua Coon. He has expertise in developing sample-preparation strategies and sensitive, high-throughput MS workflows for complex biological samples and biotherapeutics.
Alexzandrea Woudenberg, Aldevron LLC
Dr. Alexzandrea Woudenberg currently serves as a Scientist I in Research and Development at Aldevron, where she utilizes advanced analytical tools, to support innovative biotechnological applications. She earned her PhD in Biochemistry from Iowa State University, where her dissertation focused on regulatory interactions governing the Pyk2 activation complex, a critical system in kinase signaling.