Thermo-Scientific Q Exactive Plus Orbitrap LC-MS/MS System

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The overall goal of this proposal is to acquire funds to purchase a Q Exactive Plus LC-MS/MS System to replace a decade old Agilent 6520 Quadrupole ? Time-of-Flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometer with an Agilent 1260 HPLC system. The funds will be used to purchase a Q Exactive Plus coupled with a UPLC chromatographic system that will be dedicated to support NIH-funded investigators requiring metabolomics analysis. Our well-established Metabolomics Program is part of The Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR) -supported program and The Johns Hopkins University Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center (JHU SKCCC) which has been an NCI- Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center since 1976. The ICTR (established in 2007), provides the bridge to overcome obstacles in translating basic science discoveries into clinical research and uses; connecting research discoveries and clinical practice. The ICTR provides a wide range of services within five coordinated Cores. The JHU SKCCC is a Cancer Center shared resource that provides funded investigators with technical expertise and access to large equipment for quantitative analysis of endogenous and exogenous metabolites. The Metabolomics Program has been extensively used by NIH-funded investigators from several Johns Hopkins campuses (main medical campus, Bayview medical campus, Applied Physics Laboratory and JHU Homewood campus) who are conducting clinical trials in cancer patients with promising new therapies, in aging, in health effects of air pollution and in many other health problems. The Metabolomics Program also supports preclinical research projects. The rapid growth in requirement of metabolomics analysis in cancer metabolism research and studies of metabolic aspects of other diseases requires a robust metabolomics platform as an invaluable tool for gaining insights into several biochemical processes of human diseases. In this proposal, four established and qualifying NIH-funded investigators are joined by 6 other funded investigators to focus research efforts on the treatment and prevention of major health problems. With the right instrument, the depth of the PIs' expertise in cancer metabolism and metabolomics technologies, in collaboration with other experts at Johns Hopkins, will lead to improved outcomes for human disease therapy.