3-Minute Thesis
CNPN hosted a 3-Minute Thesis Competition during the May 2024 Spotlight Seminar. Following the popular science communication format, this event challenged trainees to communicate the purpose and importance of their proteomics research in under 3 minutes.
Congratulations to Madison and Davier for winning the judge’s pick and the audience’s pick, respectively. Thank you to all participants and attendees for making this event a success!
Did you miss the event? A recording of the competition is available to our members! Make sure to sign in and have an active membership. Look for “Recordings” under the Spotlight Series tab.
Meet the participants
Judges' Pick Winner
Madison Shiyuk, University of Victoria
Combining Multiple Mass Spectrometry Imaging Modalities for Comprehensive Molecular Analysis of Tissues
About me
Madison completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Victoria, and during this time she completed an Honours project at the UVic Genome BC Proteomics Centre. She is now continuing her training as a Master’s student at the Proteomics Centre.
About the science
MALDI mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) involves the detection of molecules across the surface of a tissue. Each MALDI-MSI experiment is specific for a single class of molecules (i.e. lipids or proteins), and this provides limited insight into biological processes. The aim of this project is to develop a workflow to enable several consecutive MALDI-MSI experiments on the same tissue section. The resulting information will reveal interactions between different molecular classes in addition to correlations with histological regions of interest. This technology can be used on any tissue, providing opportunity for complete molecular profiling in a broad range of applications.
Audiance Pick Winner
Davier Gutierrez-Gongora, University of Guelph
Proteogenomic and AI uncover new antifungal agents from mollusks
About me
I am from Cuba, where I did my bachelor’s in science with a mayor in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Currently, I am pursuing a PhD degree at the University of Guelph in Molecular and Cellular Biology. Specifically, my research focuses on the discovery of new peptidase inhibitors from mollusks as antifungal agents against the human fungal pathogen, Cryptococcus neoformans.
About the science
In this investigation, we use the combination of genomics and proteomics to characterize non-model species like invertebrates with potential as sources of new antifungals. Then we use artificial intelligence models to predict the antifungal properties of gene-encoded and protein-derived peptides. Likewise, we use AlphaFold multimer to predict the interaction between virulence-related enzymes and protein within the mollusk’s proteome to unveil new inhibitors.
Forough Absar, McGill University
Structural proteomics guided drug discovery, using mutant KRas as a model system
About me
I am a master’s student at Dr. Borchers lab in Experimental Medicine Department. I started my program in fall 2022 in the mass spectrometry field, focusing on structural proteomics.
About the science
Limited proteolysis combined with mass spectrometry (LiP-MS) is an informative technique for studying changes in protein structure upon ligand binding. LiP-MS utilizes proteases to cleave proteins under native conditions, revealing a structure-specific proteolytic pattern. This method distinguishes between free and drug-bound states by the variations in susceptibility to proteolysis, where small molecule binding stabilizes the protein structure, resulting in fewer exposed cleavage sites. We have characterized the interaction of drug candidates with G12D mutant KRas protein by LiP-MS. We used intact protein mass spectrometry and top-down analysis to detect and identify KRas cleavage products, respectively, and therefore to locate the cleavage site in the protein sequence. Responsive to the drug binding, cleavage sites corresponded to the location of the drug binding site.
Gillian Leach, University of Victoria
Workflow Optimization for Mass Spectrometry Imaging of Cancer Metabolites
About me
Gillian is a Biochemistry Master’s student at the UVic Proteomics Centre. Her research interests lie in Mass Spectrometry method development and the application of math, computer science, and design principles to metabolomics research.
About the science
As metabolomics continues to develop as a major avenue for cancer research, Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MSI) arises as a tool to study the unique metabolism of tumours. MSI can reveal the spatial distribution of metabolites within a tumour section, giving researchers insight into patterns of growth and metabolic reprograming that tumours undergo over time and in response to treatments. My research focuses on developing and optimizing methods to detect metabolites relevant to Ewing Sarcoma in order to address the present scarcity of established MSI workflows on targets such as transsulfuration pathway metabolites.