Dr. Schmidt has focused his attention on the storage of metabolic energy in simple eukaryotes. The yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans store metabolic energy in the form of glycogen (carbohydrates) and triglycerides (fat). But even though the yeasts commit considerable resources to building glycogen and triglyceride stores, ablation of their synthesis has no negative impact on growth and survival of prolonged starvation. Current work aims at probing the connections between the storage mechanisms, the flow of metabolites from carbohydrate to lipid metabolism and the characterization of mutants with multiple defects in macronutrient shortage.

Following his appointment as a curriculum fellow in 2018, Dr. Schmidt has also begun educational research on the effect of curricular interventions on learning outcomes.