JoVE | Peer Reviewed Scientific Video Journal

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Advanced Methods in Proteomics

Guest Editors

Virginia Harvey

University of Chester

Dr. Virginia Harvey is a Lecturer in Zoology at the University of Chester (UK). Her current research focuses on developing protein analyses in identifying and tracing animal products. She is particularly passionate about using these molecular tools in wildlife crime and forensics, food fraud, and invasive species monitoring. She has worked as a postdoctoral researcher at The University of York, specializing in ancient biomolecule extraction and analysis from archaeological artifacts. Here, she explored protein extraction and analysis techniques to find methods of minimizing sample destruction while maximizing protein yield. Before this, she completed an MPhil in Biomolecular Archaeology and a PhD in Earth Science at the University of Manchester, where her research addressed the use of biomolecular methods on archaeological bone remains in studying human impacts on biodiversity through time, focussing on both terrestrial and aquatic species. Her PhD thesis is entitled: "Collagen Type 1: Sequence evolution, species identification, and unlocking past trends in marine biodiversity."

Noemi Procopio

University of Central Lancashire

Dr. Noemi Procopio is the Principal Investigator of the "ForensOMICS" Team at the University of Central Lancashire. She was appointed at UCLan in 2022 as Senior Research Fellow in Forensic Taphonomy after working at Northumbria University for three years as Lecturer in Forensic Science and then as Senior Research Fellow in Forensic Science. She graduated with first-class honors in Biotechnology at the University of Turin with a thesis entitled: "Forensic Genetics: Analysis of Samples' Low Template DNA'." Following her BSc, she obtained a 2-year MSc degree (first class honors) in Molecular Biotechnology at the same University, with a thesis entitled: "Body Fluids Mixture Analysis from Immunochromatographic Cards" under the supervision of Prof. Sarah Gino. She then joined the University of Manchester to start her PhD in Forensic Proteomics under the supervision of Dr. Michael Buckley. Her thesis is titled: "Proteome Taphonomy, Biomolecular Investigations into the Process of Decay for Forensic and Archaeological Applications." In 2019, she was awarded the prestigious UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship with the project titled "Forens-OMICS": a cross-disciplinary implementation of omics sciences to in vivo and post-mortem aging investigations for forensic applications." Her project aims to investigate how biomolecules, particularly proteins, metabolites, and DNA, can survive and decay after death to identify new biomarkers in human bones capable of revealing information on the chronological age and the post-mortem interval (PMI) of the individuals. She is also investigating the use of metabarcoding analyses to study microbial populations for individual identification and PMI estimation purposes. Part of her research also involves the application of proteomic analyses to archaeological human remains to investigate past populations' lifestyles and health conditions.

Collection Overview

The analysis of proteomes is an established technique in many fields, ranging from medicine to forensics, paleontology, archaeology, and wildlife forensics. Research goals can vary; similarly, the methods applied can differ significantly depending on the analysis context. The aim of this Methods Collection is to bring together a wide range of techniques used in proteomics, highlighting their strengths and facilitating the growth of the field by harnessing the vast amount of existing and evolving knowledge.

This collection encompasses a wide range of methods that cover various aspects of proteomics. These include extraction methods (e.g., protocol comparisons), protein preparation techniques (e.g., reduction/alkylation/digestion, purification, and concentration steps), identification methods (e.g., MALDI-ToF MS for species identification, comparisons of LC-MS/MS platforms), quantification approaches (e.g., labeled versus label-free strategies), data analysis tools (e.g., software for identification and PTM analysis), and emerging applications of proteomics (e.g., wildlife forensics).

Comparisons between different methodologies and protocols will be particularly welcomed, as well as the presentation of innovative approaches that exploit the latest analytical platforms to overcome existing limitations in the field.