Proteomics symposium views new technologies and their applications

By Roger Segelken

Proteomics, a science so new that practitioners are still debating its definition, attracted more than 200 academic and corporate researchers, students and business representatives to a statewide symposium March 17 in Syracuse.

Above, Fred W. McLafferty, professor emeritus of chemistry and chemical biology, speaks March 17 on characterizing protein structures during the New York State Proteomics Symposium in Syracuse. At right: Kelvin H. Lee, left, assistant professor of chemical engineering, who convened the meeting, and graduate student Erin J. Finehout, right, display their poster about automated in-gel digest methods for U.S. Rep. James T. Walsh (R-25th Dist.), center. Robert Barker/University Photography

The New York State Proteomics Symposium, covering promising new technologies and challenging applications, was organized by Cornell; UNYCOR, the Upstate New York Coalition for Biomedical Research; the Business Council of New York State; and Upstate Medical University, where the daylong meeting was held, with additional support coming from NYSTAR, the state's office of science, technology and academic research.

When the symposium's first speaker, U.S. Rep. James T. Walsh (R-25th Dist.), admitted he wasn't sure what "proteomics" meant, the plenary speaker supplied two definitions: "Proteomics is the revenge of protein chemists on molecular biologists," said Scott D. Patterson, chief scientific officer at Farmal Biomedicines in Pasadena, Calif.

Speaking on "Proteomics -- Too Much of a Good Thing?" Patterson also defined the new science as involving the "analysis of (genes') expression of protein products." Other practitioners, noting that the term proteome was coined to describe the set of proteins encoded by the genome, have said that proteomics means protein biochemistry on an unprecedented, high-throughput scale.

And the high-throughput potential for rapid, more accurate analysis of proteins -- particularly with mass spectrometry (MS) -- sparked something of a bragging match among symposium speakers. Perhaps topping them all was Jack Henion, professor of diagnostic science in Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine, who announced a new product from Advion BioSciences, the Ithaca-based company he heads. Henion's new system, marketed by Advion as NanoMate 100, was described as a chip-based array of microscopic electrospray nozzles that mates to 96-well plates of prepared samples for automated, unattended operation with MS and MS/MS analysis.

One secret to his nozzles, the Advion executive said, was their cylindrical shape, allowing them to spray for as long as 40 hours without clogging. SUNY Buffalo chemist Troy D. Wood, who spoke on the topic, "Miniaturization of Electrospray -- A Driving Force in the Era of Proteomics," said special coatings on his taper-shaped nozzles allows them to spray up to seven hours without clogging.

Among other Cornell-based speakers in the symposium, which was convened by Kelvin H. Lee, Cornell assistant professor of chemical engineering, were Klaas van Wijk, assistant professor of plant biology, speaking on "Functional Proteomics of Plastids from Higher Plants Through Prediction and Experimentation"; Fred McLafferty, professor emeritus of chemistry and chemical biology, on "Characterization of Protein Primary Structures by Top Down Mass Spectometry"; and Dave Schneider of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service laboratory in Ithaca, on "Application of Proteomics to Gene Regulation and Molecular Pathogenesis in Pseudomonas syringae PV Tomato DC3000."

Schneider, while confessing to be a bioinformatics advocate, noted that "proteomics frees you from charlatans who call themselves bioinformatics experts."

Walsh, who chairs the House of Representatives subcommittee that controls about $122 billion in appropriations to the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency and other research-funding agencies, said research in proteomics and other basic sciences "is important for our health and the well-being of millions of people around the world." He praised the recently established UNYCOR, saying that "it comes at the right time to share equipment and potential successes, as well as occasional setbacks," among affiliated institutions in upstate New York.

Upstate Medical University President Gregory L. Eastwood, in introducing Walsh, explained that a newly acquired proteomics instrument was centrally located at Upstate Medical for use by all UNYCOR members. In addition to Cornell and Upstate Medical, UNYCOR members include Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, Ordway Research Institute in Albany and the University of Rochester Medical Center.