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Project

Center for Proteomics (CfP).

The Center for Proteomics was founded about a decade ago as a UAntwerpen/VITO state-of-the-art mass spectrometry platform as a continuation of the former UAntwerpen CeProMa Core facility. Since 2017, the main focus of the UAntwerpen/VITO team was the use of proteomic approaches to identify biomarkers for early diagnosis of disease. Over the years, we have built up a multi-disciplinary team of lab technicians, mass spectrometry experts, biologists, biochemists, (bio)medical experts, mathematicians and (bio)-informaticians to set up good experimental designs, develop quality control tools, develop additional data analysis software, … Moreover, the close interactions we now have with clinical and academic partners (with complementary expertise and biobanks) give us access to high quality clinical samples and medical expertise. Today, we have the team's expertise, the network and the infrastructure that will help us bridge the gap between discovery, translation and clinical applications. Mass spectrometry based proteomics of biofluids and tissues is complementary to other techniques that are currently available at UAntwerpen. It has the advantage that it can detect modifications and discern various proteoforms. This is not possible with PCR based techniques and even new and promising techniques like single molecule protein sequencing have limitations compared to MS based techniques. Therefore, we make a combination of these techniques in our aim to create an as complete and accurate proteome profile as possible for (bio)medical applications. Besides proteomics, we also specialize in peptidomics, covering the analysis of naturally occurring small peptides which play important regulatory roles in all multicellular organisms and is especially relevant to study cellular interactions of the immune system. This type of analysis requires specialized technological skills, especially in terms of sample preparation, analytical techniques and data analysis. Some team members are worldwide pioneers in this field. This is the reason why several companies (J&J, MyNeo, …) collaborate with the CfP for exactly this type of expert scientific support. Thanks to investments from VITO and UAntwerpen (Hercules) we are equipped with state-of-the art mass spectrometers and hyphenated equipment that rival the best proteomics centers in Europe. Ours Tims-Tof mass spectrometer and Rapiflex maldi imager are unique in Flanders. With this proteomics and peptidomics platform, we focus on application driven research making it possible to work closer with the market than typical academic research groups do. This is a clear added value for both our University, VITO and the industrial partners.
Date:1 Jan 2022 →  Today
Keywords:PROTEOMICS, LC-MASS SPECTROMETRY
Disciplines:Structural bioinformatics and computational proteomics, Protein diagnostics, Posttranslational modifications, Cancer biology