The mission of the Translational Proteomics Center (TPC) is to strengthen the current capacity for biomedical research in proteomics in Puerto Rico. Loyda M. Meléndez, PhD, currently serves as Director of the Proteomics Service (PS) and Leads the Research Infrastructure Core.

This core facility is supported by RCMI /INBRE/ and Comprehensive Cancer Center and provides resources and expertise in Proteomics to scientists in Puerto Rico (UPR-Medical Sciences Campus, Ponce School of Medicine, and Universidad Central del Caribe), partner institutions in the PRINBRE Program, and other campuses of the UPR System.

The facility is well equipped with a Q Exactive™ Hybrid Quadrupole Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer from Thermo Scientific™. This is the backbone of the proteomics platform for the rapid discovery of multiple biomarkers, for protein identification and protein quantitation.

GOALS

• The TPC functions as a platform for biomarker discovery, protein identification and quantitation applied to basic research, diagnosis, and therapeutic monitoring of human diseases.

• Integrate Proteomics with Genomics, Bioinformatics (Statistics and Ingenuity Pathways), Metabolomics, and Emergent Infectious Disease Cores.

• Provide new methodologies on quantitative proteomics such as: TMT labelling, phophoproteomics, and IP.

• Provide and integrate validation strategies with other cores including: Imaging (Core in Neurobiology), ELISAs (TPC,TEID), and Kinetic assays (TPC, TEID).

• Provide workshops and trainings through the INBRE program and augment users and visits to the TPC, as well as supported projects.