Hong Li, PhD - US grants

This award provides funds to support the purchase of an instrument with combined liquid chromatography and advanced time of flight and tandem mass spectrometry capabilities. Recent advances in mass spectrometry have provided unprecedented opportunities for the analysis of proteins, such as internal sequencing, identification of nature and location of post-translational modifications and noncovalent interactions. The system to be purchased will allow the research communities at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Rutgers University - Newark to take advantage of this state-of-the-art technology in protein research. Currently, there is no instrument available that allows researchers at either institute to sequence and elucidate protein structures using tandem mass spectrometry. Provision of this technology will significantly enhance the quality and productivity of the research on both campuses, as well as at others in the Newark area. The instrument will be placed in a Mass Spectrometry Core Facility available to researchers at both institutions. The projects outlined in this application by the expected major users of the instrument entail basic research into the structure and function of proteins from a wide-range of organisms - human, yeast, bacteria and plants. The types of questions to be addressed will require protein identification and sequencing, nuclear protein complex identification, localization of protein-ligand interactions, enzyme tertiary structure determination, quality control of designer metallo-protein synthesis, internal sequencing of N-terminally blocked proteins, and identification of post-translational modification of proteins. This equipment will be supervised and maintained by an experienced mass spectrometrist who is in charge of the core facility. Three committees drawn from both institutions oversee the fiscal and scientific management and daily operation of this facility.

? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Previous funding from the NINDS P30 Program has supported the NeuroProteomics Core Facility of UMDNJ. With the integration of Rutgers University and UMDNJ, we now request support for an expanded Rutgers Mass Spectrometry Center for Integrative Neuroscience Research. Rutgers has outstanding depth in neuroscience with over 350 researchers in this area and in the past funding period, the Core successfully advanced neuroscience research and educational missions by providing NINDS researchers access to advanced proteomics technologies, and serving as a hub for collaborations and new technology developments. In this renewal application, we will provide NINDS-funded PI's with local access to state-of-the-art proteomics technology with the continued upgrade our Core equipment. Scientific Cores will be located on the Newark and New Brunswick/Piscataway campuses of Rutgers University and respectively directed by Co-PI's Dr. Hong Li, who has over 10 years' experience in managing the NeuroProteomics Core and Dr. Peter Lobel, who has extensive experience in using proteomics in neuroscience research. Expertise and technology of the two cores are complementary, but a key rationale for two locations is that NINDS researchers will be able to access the Core locally. This will allow interaction between researchers and facility staff that is critical for the successful planning, execution and interpretation of MS studies. Technical capabilities will be expanded for NINDs researchers with access to two new Thermo Q Exactive Hybrid Quadrupole-Orbitrap Mass Spectrometers. This is a high-sensitivity/high-throughput instrument that is highly applicable for protein identification, quantification of protein post-translational modifications and biomarker discovery and validation. Rutgers has promised excellent institutional commitment for the Core including modern laboratory space and salary support for both PIs and administrative supporting personnel. Two committees, composed of NINDS and other investigators, will oversee the facility's fiscal and scientific management as well as its daily operation. A User Club will provide an important forum for education, training, data sharing and collaborations. As demonstrated by our past record of success, this expanded Core will be maintained with a sound scientific and financial management structure and effectively utilized to enhance research capabilities for NINDS-sponsored research.