Analysis of complex diseases using mass spectrometry based proteomics

Yishai Levin, The Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel (yishai.levin@weizmann.ac.il)

Proteins are the key building blocks of every organism. They also play a central role in most biological and pathological processes. Therefore, proteins are ideal molecules for disease biomarkers as they are influenced both by genetic factors and environmental factors.

Mass spectrometry based proteomics is now a mature technology used in many areas of life science and biomedical research. With significant improvement in sample preparation, instrumentation and software, it is now possible to measure entire repertoires of proteins across dozens of complex samples, including tumor tissue and biofluids, which is particularly useful for prognostic and diagnostic biomarker discovery. 

Several case studies will be presented highlighting the state of the art in proteomic analysis, including some of the latest improvements in sample preparation and instrumentation.

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Abstract Reference & Short Personal Biography of Presenting Author

Yishai holds a B.Sc. in physics and completed a Ph.D. in Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge UK. There he co-developed the first blood based diagnostic test for schizophrenia.

In 2010 he joined the Weizmann Institute and now heads the Protein Profiling platform of the Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine. His main interest is applying mass spectrometry technologies for solving clinical questions, what is known as clincal proteomics.