Progress 09/15/22 to 05/07/24
Outputs
Target Audience:During the duration of the project, our target audiences were primarily those groups who would be working in the laboratory to utilize the mass spectrometry instrumentation purchased through this grant. In particular, the following groups either used the equipment or were trained on general principles: Graduate students Postdoctoral research associates Staff Changes/Problems:We encountered challenges with operating the instrument while maintaining connection to the university network and data storage resources due to IT security requirements implemented by the University of Nebraska. The PC configuration required under IT policies mandatory to maintain network connectivity seems to periodically interfere with the PC configuration and settings required by the instrument manufacturer. Ultimately, this could affect our data management plan, our ability to receive remote instrument support, the efficiency of our operation, and the proportion of available instrument time dedicated to IT troubleshooting instead of data collection. We are continuing to work on resolving these issues in coordination with IT staff, but substantial additional effort has been required and instrument downtime has been much greater than anticipated. We have also been required to establish a service center in order to collect user fees as described in our management plan. This process took approximately six months to complete, but we now have the appropriate accounting systems in place. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As described in the accomplishments section, training and education were primary objectives of the project. One of the professional development opportunities, proteomics training workshops (as described above) was delivered to graduate students and postdocs. In addition to the participants in the workshop, additional graduate students have gained first-hand experience working with the instrument, including conducting calibration, system suitability analysis, and proteomics workflow development. A training workshop for food industry professionals is scheduled for June 24-27, 2024. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The availability of the training courses conducted in August 2023 and March 2024 was communicated to members of the Department of Food Science and Technology (including graduate students and post-doctoral research associates) and affiliated faculty via email. Announcements about the June 2024 food industry professional training were circulated via email and shared on social media (LinkedIn). Research outputs are planned to be presented at national professional meetings in the summer of 2024. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The first objective for this project (i.e., acquire a high-resolution, accurate-mass mass spectrometer (HRAM-MS) with on-line liquid chromatography) has been completed. The instrument configuration was finalized, in coordination with the instrument vendor, in September-November 2022. The final instrument configuration was as described in the proposal: a Thermo Scientific Exploris 240 Quadrupole-Orbitrap hybrid mass spectrometer, with a Thermo Scientific Horizon Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography unit. All instrument components were ordered in December 2022, and delivery was completed in March 2023. The instrument was installed by vendor engineers, with installation completed by May 2023. The instrument vendor also provided on-site training to core users in August 2023. The instrument has been operational in our laboratory since May 2023, and we have implemented procedures for calibration, system suitability, general bottom-up proteomics workflows, and intact MS of proteins in simple mixtures. Towards the second objective, the instrument has been used to conduct research on a variety of topics, including proteomics analysis of fermented and hydrolyzed gluten and development of an MS method for detection of fish protein from multiple species in processed food matrices. In addition, we have made progress on the third objective (i.e., provide hands-on proteomics training and experience for graduate students and postdoctoral research associates). Food Proteomics Workshops were held August 15-18, 2023, and March 11-14, 2024. In total, 16 graduate students and postdoctoral research associates attended the workshops. The workshops consisted of a combination of theoretical and practical (laboratory and data analysis) sessions to give participants a holistic understanding of proteomics workflows. The workshop also prepared participants to be users of the HRAM-MS instrumentation for future research.
Publications
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Progress 09/15/22 to 09/14/23
Outputs
Target Audience:During this reporting period, our target audiences were primarily those groups who would be working in the laboratory to utilize the mass spectrometry instrumentation purchased through this grant. In particular, the following groups either used the equipment or were trained on general principles: Graduate students Postdoctoral research associates Staff Changes/Problems:We have encountered challenges with operating the instrument while maintaining connection to the university network and data storage resources due to IT security requirements implemented by the University of Nebraska. The PC configuration required under IT policies mandatory to maintain network connectivity seems to periodically interfere with the PC configuration and settings required by the instrument manufacturer. Ultimately, this could affect our data management plan, our ability to receive remote instrument support, the efficiency of our operation, and the proportion of available instrument time dedicated to IT troubleshooting instead of data collection. We are continuing to work on resolving these issues in coordination with IT staff, but substantial additional effort has been required and instrument downtime has been much greater than anticipated. This has delayed full use of the instrument for new research activities. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As described in the accomplishments section, training and education were primary objectives of the project. One of the professional development opportunities, a proteomics training workshop (as described above) was delivered to graduate students and postdocs. In addition to the participants in the workshop, additional graduate students have gained first-hand experience working with the instrument, including conducting calibration, system suitability analysis, and proteomics workflow development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The availability of the training course conducted in August 2023 was communicated to members of the Department of Food Science and Technology (including graduate students and post-doctoral research associates) and affiliated faculty via email. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Over the next reporting period, we plan to make progress on objectives 2 and 4 and to continue efforts related to objective 3, as described below. Objective 2: Use HRAM-MS instrumentation to conduct food proteomics research across a diversity of specificapplications. Now that the instrument is installed and operational, we will begin actively using the instrument to conduct research. Projects already planned over the next reporting year include evaluation of fermented and hydrolyzed gluten products, characterization of tree nut proteomes, development of a targeted method for fish detection, and assessment of post-translational cleavage of allergens in seeds. Objective 4: Deliver practical workshops on food proteomics for food and analytical industry professionals. We are currently in the process of looking for suitable dates during which we would be able to offer a training workshop for food and analytical industry professionals. Our goal is to host such a workshop in Spring/Summer of 2024. Objective 3: Provide hands-on proteomics training and experience for graduate students and postdoctoral researchassociates. Graduate students and postdoctoral research associates will gain experience with the instrumentation while using it for relevant aspects of their research, and will also continue to have opportunities to participate in routine calibration and maintenance operations. We also plan to have another training workshop in the Winter/Spring of 2024.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Major Goal: The major goal of this project is to accelerate the U.S. capacity for food proteomics research and applications by developing an integrated food proteomics research, training, and extension hub at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Objectives: Acquire a high-resolution, accurate-mass mass spectrometer (HRAM-MS) with on-line liquid chromatography Use HRAM-MS instrumentation to conduct food proteomics research across a diversity of specificapplications Provide hands-on proteomics training and experience for graduate students and postdoctoral researchassociates Deliver practical workshops on food proteomics for food and analytical industry professionals The first objective for this project (i.e., acquire a high-resolution, accurate-mass mass spectrometer (HRAM-MS) with on-line liquid chromatography) has been completed. The instrument configuration was finalized, in coordination with the instrument vendor, in September-November 2022. The final instrument configuration was as described in the proposal: a Thermo Scientific Exploris 240 Quadrupole-Orbitrap hybrid mass spectrometer, with a Thermo Scientific Horizon Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography unit. All instrument components were ordered in December 2022, and delivery was completed in March 2023. The instrument was installed by vendor engineers, with installation completed by May 2023. The instrument vendor also provided on site training to core users in August 2023. The instrument has been operational in our laboratory since May 2023, and we have implemented procedures for calibration, system suitability, and general bottom-up proteomics workflows. In addition, we have made progress on the third objective (i.e., provide hands-on proteomics training and experience for graduate students and postdoctoral research associates). A Food Proteomics Workshop was held August 15-18, 2023. Nine graduate students and postdoctoral research associates attended the workshop. The workshop consisted of a combination of theoretical and practical (laboratory and data analysis) sessions to give participants a holistic understanding of proteomics workflows.The workshop also prepared participants to be users of the HRAM-MS instrumentation for future research.
Publications
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