Our group’s research includes a diverse group of projects that all include proteomics as a unifying theme.

These projects involve both the development of new instrumentation for proteomic analysis, and the application of current proteomic methods to investigate interesting problems.  Microfluidic and nanofluidic systems provide the underlying technology for many of our efforts in the development of next-generation tools and instrumentation for proteome analysis.  In our applications of proteomics, we use proteomics to study carbon cycling in the oceans, symbiotic plant-fungi interactions in terrestrial systems, and protein regulation in the health sciences.

Main Project Areas

Microfluidic/nanofluidic systems:  Development of microfluidic devices for preparation and handling of protein and peptide samples prior to sequence analysis by electrospray tandem mass spectrometry.  

Marine Chemistry:  Isolation, identification, and characterization of dissolved proteins in seawater to help determine the sources, fates, and transformations of the molecules that comprise dissolved organic matter in the oceans.

Environmental Chemistry:  Investigation of changes in protein expression as a result of plant-fungi symbiosis and the mechanisms through which such symbioses help plants store more carbon and protect plants from toxic levels of metal ions in soils. 

last updated on : January 23, 2008