Research Interests:
Our primary research interest is to develop novel technologies for the comprehensive characterization of cellular proteomes in order to better understand protein functions and interactions under normal and disease states. Such understanding requires high-throughput technologies that allow running various experiments in parallel. The aim of our research is to develop such technologies and gain insight into the biological processes that would otherwise not be achieved using traditional methods.
The comprehensive proteomic analysis of complex biological systems and processes is currently very difficult due to the technical limitations and challenges. However, the potential for improving our understanding of biological processes using proteomic information is tremendous. One such biological system that would benefit from comprehensive proteomic profiling is the analysis of differential protein expression in vascular endothelial cells during hypoxia-induced angiogenesis. Angiogenesis describes the development of new capillaries from the endothelium of the pre-existing blood vessels. Although many studies have defined the properties of angiogenic regulators, little is known about the signaling pathways within vascular endothelial cells that govern angiogenic behavior. Hence, it has become imperative to bridge the gap by comprehensive characterization of the cellular proteome that mediates vessel formation. Thus, the development of precise protein characterization methods will significantly aid in the identification and characterization of proteomic changes in vascular endothelial cells during angiogenesis.
Below is the highlight of some of the current research activities:
- Determine changes in protein phosphorylation and glycosylation during angiogenesis.
- Develop peptoid arrays for high-throughput quantification of differentially expressed proteins and their posttranslational modifications.
- Proteomics of Congestive Heart Defects.
Group Member:
