LC-MS based metabolite profiling for biomarker discovery and systems biology research
- LecturerDr. Habtom W. Ressom (Associate Professor, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center)
Host: Dr. Ting-Yi Sung - Time2010-12-22 (Wed.) 10:00 – 12:00
- LocationAuditorium 106 at new IIS Building
Abstract
Abstract:
Metabolomics is the comprehensive analysis of small molecule
metabolites produced by normal or abnormal cellular
processes. It is fast gaining ground as a powerful tool for
biomarker discovery and as an important component of
systems biology research, complementing genomics,
transcriptomics, and proteomics. Recent advances in LC-MS
based metabolomics have created the potential to measure the
levels of numerous metabolites in various media ranging from
cell cultures to human biological fluids such as urine,
saliva, and blood. This talk will give an overview on the
following specific topics: (1) untargeted metabolomic
profiling by label-free LC-MS methods to find candidate
metabolic biomarkers for early detection of complex disease
such as cancer; (2) identification of metabolites by
database search and spectral matching; (3) verification of
candidate metabolic biomarkers by absolute quantitation
using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) assays; and (4)
integration of biomarkers identified by various omics
methods for systems biology research. An example will be
provided from an ongoing cancer biomarker discovery study,
in which LC-MS data are generated from hundreds of serum
samples collected at Georgetown University Hospital. In
addition, the talk will present data processing, statistical,
and machine learning methods applied for LC-MS data
filtering, peak finding, alignment, normalization,
visualization, identification of significant features,
metabolite identification, functional interpretation, and
pathway analysis.
Short Biography: Dr. Ressom received a Ph.D. in Electrical
Engineering from the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany
in 1999. Prior to joining Georgetown University in 2004, he
was an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer
Engineering at the University of Maine, where he applied
computational intelligence-based methods such as artificial
neural networks, fuzzy logic, and evolutionary computing for
microarray gene expression data analysis, DNA base calling,
ocean color remote sensing, and industrial process control.
Currently, he is an Associate Professor in the Department
of Oncology at Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center,
Georgetown University Medical Center. His research focuses
on cancer biomarker discovery and systems biology by
analysis of omics data. Specifically, he uses label-free
liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methods to
find candidate peptide, glycan, and metabolic biomarkers in
serum and plasma. His laboratory develops signal processing,
statistical, and machine learning methods to analyze LC-MS
data and to integrate omics for biomarker discovery and
systems biology research. Dr. Ressom’s laboratory is funded
by grants from the National Science Foundation and the
National Institutes of Health. Dr. Ressom is a senior member
of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE) and a co-director of the Lombardi Comprehensive
Cancer Center’s Genomics and Epigenomics Shared Resource,
which provides services for various studies including DNA
sequencing, fragment analysis, gene expression, microRNA,
methylation, and SNP genotyping.