Thermo Fisher Scientific Proteomics Facility for Disease Target Discovery Opens at Gladstone Institutes

The Thermo Fisher Scientific Proteomics Facility for Disease Target Discovery opened today at the Gladstone Institutes, as part of a collaboration between Thermo Fisher, Gladstone, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and QB3, to accelerate targeted proteomics research using the most advanced mass spectrometry technologies.

The Thermo Fisher Scientific Proteomics Facility is directed by Nevan J. Krogan, PhD, senior investigator at the Gladstone Institutes, professor of cellular and molecular pharmacology at UCSF, and director of the UCSF division of the life science research institute and startup accelerator QB3. The facility will provide scientists from Gladstone, UCSF, and QB3 with state-of-the-art mass spectrometry technologies to characterize protein dynamics in complex biological systems. The technologies will enable scientists to acquire unprecedented knowledge about the interactions between genes and the proteins they produce, and help facilitate solutions to unanswered biomedical problems.

Among the various cutting-edge approaches available in the Thermo Fisher Scientific Proteomics Facility are:

• Creation of high-resolution protein-protein interaction maps and advanced protein characterization
• Genome-directed proteomic screening and selection
• Ultra-sensitive, quantitative analysis of protein abundance and post-translational modifications

“We know that human cells contain approximately 25,000 genes that instruct the synthesis of many thousands of proteins, but we understand the function of only a small subset of these,” said R. Sanders Williams, MD, president and Robert W. and Linda L. Mahley Distinguished Professor, Gladstone Institutes. “We are deeply grateful to Thermo Fisher for sponsoring this indispensable facility, which will not only illuminate how genes and proteins function but also shed light on the underlying biology of disease for each person.”

The facility will showcase the latest mass spectrometers for detailed biological discovery and quantitation, including the new Orbitrap Fusion Tribrid and TSQ Quantiva Triple Quadrupole LC/MS systems. In addition to enabling innovative research, the Thermo Fisher facility will be a focal point for promoting biological applications of mass spectrometry by hosting an invited lecture series, discussion groups, workshops, and trainings.

“Gladstone, UCSF, QB3, and Dr. Krogan’s lab, including key members such as Jeffrey Johnson, PhD, have been doing exceptional work in the area of genetic and protein mapping in order to gain insight into disease pathways and mutations,” said Ken Miller, vice president, research product marketing, Thermo Fisher. “Through our collaboration, the new facility will enable researchers to apply state-of-the-art proteomics technologies to this critical area of research. We look forward to building on this collaboration and seeing the promising discoveries to come.”

“The new Thermo Fisher-sponsored facility will be of great benefit to researchers throughout the UCSF community and beyond,” said Sam Hawgood, MBBS, chancellor of UCSF. “By using these Thermo Fisher technologies, scientists will succeed in building comprehensive maps of how genes and proteins interact—knowledge that may lead to new drug targets for a host of devastating diseases.”

“Thermo Fisher is the perfect partner for this collaboration, both in terms of their technology and their willingness to support and grow the proteomics community,” stated Dr. Krogan. “Our research is critically dependent on our ability to perform detailed protein analysis with extreme sensitivity and accuracy. We require the most advanced mass spectrometers to continue our studies.”