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Thursday, 14 May 2020

A new cutting-edge facility at The University of Western Australia will explore biological markers associated with human health, agriculture (crops and livestock), and the diverse flora and fauna on land and marine environments.

The WA Proteomics Facility will combine the expertise of UWA proteomics experts and medical technology company Proteomics International to determine how proteins change in abundance and type in response to human diseases and more widely in various organisms living in harsh environments.

The facility is funded by a co-investment of $5 million over four years from Bioplatforms Australia, WA Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation, UWA and Proteomics International as part of the NCRIS (National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy) capability.

Proteomics, the large-scale study of proteins, can lead to new medical drugs and help us better understand plant-insect interactions, among other applications.

UWA’s proteomics research brings strategic focus in medical, agriculture, environmental and marine sciences and a vision for translational science across these broad areas. For example, UWA’s analysis of crop plant proteomes underpin new protein biomarker analysis of wheat yield and responses to harsh environments like salinity, drought, and extreme temperatures.

Professor Harvey Millar from the School of Molecular Sciences and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology is leading the UWA contribution to the WA Proteomics Facility. Proteomics International specialises in proteomics in an applied and industry-focused setting and is at the forefront of clinical proteomics, companion diagnostics, and diagnostics for quality control in the food industry.

The partnership with new facilities will enable researchers to access emerging opportunities in proteomics through the WA Proteomics Facility. These include targeted quantitation of proteins across large sample sets and proteome flux measurements to assess the speed of protein synthesis and degradation processes in biological samples. Expertise in biomedical and non-biomedical proteomics is available to users across the public and private sector, and the specialised services at this joint WA Node will make a national and international contribution to Bioplatforms Australia.

Researchers interested in contacting this service at UWA can email [email protected] or visit the Western Australian Proteomics Facility webpage .

Media references

Jess Reid (UWA Media and PR Adviser) 6488 6876

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Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis — Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences