"Reading Between the Spectral Lines: Revealing Interactions Within Living Cells"

Experience the complete proceedings on-line: streaming video of the lecture is now available.
Video (54 minutes)

Around the turn of the nineteenth century, scientists in Cambridge, England, discovered that it was possible to deflect particles using magnetic and electric fields. The resulting spectra appeared as series of bands, separated by both relative mass and charge, and held the key to the identity of the original particle. These early experiments underpin what has become known as the proteomics revolution, in which mass spectra are used to define all the individual proteins within a living cell. This fascinating research is providing an inventory of proteins and their modifications as a function of cell cycle and stress.

Using as examples assemblies that orchestrate important cellular processes, such as synthesis of proteins and fuel, Carol Robinson will trace the history of this emerging field.  She will highlight significant breakthroughs that have occurred along the way and showcase the new insight that can be gleaned from the mass spectra of these finely tuned macromolecular machines.

Robinson is a professor of biological chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, England. She earned her PhD at the University of Cambridge. Prior to joining the University of Cambridge, Robinson was a Royal Society University Research Fellow at Oxford University.  

This lecture is designed for the interested layperson and is free and open to the public.