Distinguished research award

Dr Judit Villen of the University of Washington, Seattle, USA, has been presented with the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) 2011 Research Award. Sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific, the annual award recognizes and supports breakthrough academic research by young scientists in the field of mass spectrometry (MS).

An independent and anonymous ASMS committee chose Dr Villen based on her research on the MS-based analysis of protein phosphorylation in single cells. Her goal is to understand the complex cellular signalling networks that impact the expression of cancers, such as human breast cancer. The early-stage research that will be supported by the award, focuses on the development of a novel interface for single-cell MS using the company’s Orbitrap LC–MS system.

“Until now, MS studies measured proteins based on the average of millions of cells, completely missing the variations between individual cells that can have substantial consequences in signalling cell growth, proliferation and differentiation, all of which play roles in the expression of diseases such as cancer,” said Ian Jardine, vice president of global R&D at the company. “Through her early-stage effort to develop an interface for single-cell mass spectrometry analysis, Dr Villen will launch an exciting new era of single-cell proteomics.”

For more information about the company’s mass spectrometry solutions visit www.thermoscientific.com/ms

This story originally appeared in The Column. Click here to view that issue.