Perdita Elizabeth Barran is a Professor of Mass Spectrometry at the University of Manchester. She is Director of the Michael Barber Centre for Collaborative Mass Spectrometry. She develops and applies ion-mobility spectrometry–mass spectrometry to the study of molecule structure and is searching for biomarkers for Parkinson's disease. She co-leads the mass spectrometry theme for the Rosalind Franklin Institute. She was awarded the 2009 Joseph Black award from the Royal Society of Chemistry Analytical Division.