Proteomics is the study of the entire set of proteins produced in an organism, system, or biological situation. Compared to DNA or transcripts, proteins are directly linked to phenotypic behaviour. Therefore, expression of proteins is considered a better measure of cellular activity and its comparative analysis often used to obtain valuable information across different cellular states, diseases, or organisms. We employ LC-MS/MS based label free quantitative proteomics to elucidate the molecular mechanism for various biological contexts. Our key areas in proteomics research are : A). Whole cell proteomics
We use whole cell proteomics to understand the physiology of bacteria with a focus on bacteria relevant in food safety and health, nutrition, and industrial applications.
01. Food safety: Use of comparative whole cell proteomics to unravel the mechanism of resistance of various pathogenic microbes to various stress conditions. This informs intervention strategies against these pathogens for effective eradication.
02. Beneficial microbes: Through a combination of both proteomics and bioinformatic analyses we can gain insights to the metabolism of bacteria with various biotechnological applications such as probiotic strains and members of the human gut microbiome. This informs the design and use of such microbes in human nutrition or industrial applications. B). Biological fluids
We also employ label free quantitative proteomics to assess the molecular changes in various biological fluids or tissues as a result of disease, nutrition or drug intervention.
01. Maternal human milk: We are currently investigating proteomics changes in the human milk from mothers across 4 Asian countries including Korea, Vietnam, China and Pakistan.
02. Other biosamples: We also investigate proteomic changes in targeted biological fluids such as serum, post serum, cerebral spinal fluids, etc for both human and animals. This helps yield insights into the efficacy of the interventions and overall physiological response.