Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, today announced that it is the lead sponsor of the upcoming Uppsala Conference on Electron Capture and Transfer Dissociation. The conference, organized by Dr. Joshua J. Coon from the departments of chemistry and biomolecular chemistry at the University of Wisconsin, will be held in Madison, Wisconsin, from December 7-10, 2008.
Electron capture dissociation (ECD) and electron transfer dissociation (ETD) are related techniques that help scientists doing protein research obtain greater understanding of proteins and their functions in biological systems. Using mass spectrometers with ECD or ETD capabilities, researchers can more accurately identify proteins and pinpoint how and where they are modified. These modifications can have profound effects on the biological functions of proteins and provide critical insight into differences between healthy and diseased organisms.
The conference’s scientific program will focus on four major themes: ion–electron interaction fundamentals, instrument development, applications in biology and related bioinformatics. Highlights will include presentations from the conference’s founder, Professor Roman Zubarev of Uppsala University in Sweden, Dr. Steve Gygi of Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Jim Stephenson of the Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina.
The meeting’s host, Dr. Joshua Coon, is a pioneer in combining ETD with tandem mass spectrometry, in particular the Thermo Scientific LTQ Orbitrap™. He uses the technique in his research of developmental biology, where the powerful combination of high resolution and accurate mass is pivotal in achieving definitive protein characterization.
“We are proud to be supporting the conference,” says Amy Zumwalt, proteomics marketing programs manager for life sciences mass spectrometry at Thermo Fisher Scientific. “ETD is a groundbreaking tool in mass spectrometry, and it is vital that scientific information is shared among the community working in this growing field. At least 150 research groups are using ETD to solve biological problems they were unable to solve before.”
Thermo Fisher Scientific is a leading developer of electron transfer dissociation technology, offering several high-performance mass spectrometers with ETD capability. It also provides software designed specifically to better analyze data produced by ETD analyses. The Uppsala meeting will feature talks from Andreas Hühmer and John Syka of Thermo Fisher Scientific, who will be presenting the latest information on the application of ETD on the Thermo Scientific LTQ XL and LTQ Orbitrap XL mass spectrometers.
“The ETD technique was developed with post-translational modifications in mind,” adds Andreas Hühmer, proteomics marketing director at Thermo Fisher Scientific. “If you need to find PTMs on proteins, then ETD is essential. The Uppsala Conference will be an indispensable event for those wanting to both learn about the technique and to explore its potential for their applications.”
The meeting is being held at Madison’s historic Monona Terrace Community and Conference Center, and the deadline for registration is November 14. The registration form can be found at the Uppsala Conference website.
After the conference, the Thermo Fisher Scientific sessions will be available for download free-of -charge at www.thermo.com/proteomics.