CAREER: Advancing MS For Peptide/Protein Sequencing

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This CAREER award to Professor Michael Van Stipdonk of Wichita State University is supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program in the Chemistry Division. In this project, mass spectrometry will be further developed and refined for identification of peptides and proteins, a crucial step in efforts to understand metabolic pathways, cellular signaling, and the biochemistry of disease. The sequence of amino acids, the order in which they are linked together, ultimately identifies a peptide or protein. Before mass spectrometry can be used for high-throughput and high-accuracy sequencing directly (i.e. without resorting to library or database searches), a clear understanding of the "rules" that govern peptide and protein dissociation in the gas-phase is required. The project includes a comprehensive investigation of factors that guide dissociation reactions, including the importance of cation choice (proton or metal ion), peptide sequence, tautomerization, cyclization and intramolecular proton transfer. The work will lead to an optimized and validated mass spectrometry approach to peptide/protein identification that can be applied to proteome analysis, biochemistry and molecular biology.The project has, and will continue to include undergraduate students as integral participants in research. From their experiences, new experiments for the determination of amino acid sequence in peptides will be condensed and transformed into novel educational exercises. With regard to the K-12 system, a new program will be developed to address the important issue of science teacher preparation and retention. The PI and several representatives of area public and private high schools envision a comprehensive resource to support science teachers, including the training of new teachers through the Wichita State University Alternative Certification program. In particular, lesson plans, teaching strategies, and exercises in critical thinking will be developed and shared among many new teachers; already, more than 90 teachers have expressed interest in the program. Opportunities will also be extended to high school teachers to spend summer months conducting research at Wichita State University, strengthening their mastery of chemistry content knowledge, and better preparing them to translate and transfer the excitement and relevance of science to their students.