Over the last decade, analytical chemistry has developed powerful tools to study complicated samples. For example, the ultrahigh-resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometer is one instrument which has been used to interrogate complex matrices with chemical mixtures which have never been identified before. The analysis of such samples can be broadly categorized into ‘targeted’ and ‘untargeted’ workflows that use increasingly rigorous methods to confirm suspected chemical entities. Can a similar approach be used to question the barriers to accessing higher education for people of colour and furthermore, can data to fundamentally change the system in a way which will lead to both effective recruitment and retention of Black scholars in their pursuits of careers in STEM?