Evolutionary Medicine and Informatics: Functional Proteomics

Discovering functionally important elements of genomes

A grand challenge in the post-genomic era is to identify all functionally important parts of our genomes, and understand their patterns of expression in living systems. Unfortunately, our ability to discover these segments using classical laboratory methods is limited to small regions of the genome. Consequently, new molecular tools are needed that will make it possible to explore all regions of our genomes, and learn about their expression patterns in different living systems.

By using innovative test tube evolution methods, we are beginning to uncover the functional and translational landscape of our genomes. In doing so, we are assessing the true coding potential of whole genome sequences, beyond what is already known in the form of conventional proteins. We are also surveying complete cellular proteomes to discover biomedically and biologically important functional elements, and their differential expression in various developmental stages of life—from embryogenesis to adulthood. These advances will accelerate investigations in functional genomics, and lead to improved functional annotation of existing and future genome sequences. 

Functional Proteomics

Faculty
Core: John Chaput (coordinator), Timothy Karr, Sudhir Kumar
Key: Seungchan Kim, Douglas Lake, J. Alan Rawls, Jesse Taylor, Brian Verrelli

Scientists
Senior: Fabia Battistuzzi, Li Liu, Brian Wellensiek
Junior: Kimberly Kukurba, Justin Caskey

Technicians
Megan Leon, Greg McInnes

Collaborators
Steve Dorus, U of Bath
Manyuan Long, U of Chicago
Steve Russell, Cambridge U
Brian Oliver, NIH