NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – The US Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Oregon Health & Science University today announced a collaboration aimed at integrating omics research.
The organizations have inked a memorandum of understanding to create the OHSU-PNNL Northwest Co-Laboratory for Integrated 'Omics with the goal of investigating disease biomarkers for new drug therapies. The new lab will combine capabilities in genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics research.
The co-laboratory expands on existing individual collaborations between the partners and will provide "enhanced access" to state-of-the-art mass spectrometry technology and technical expertise, they said. OHSU's strength has been in genomics, and the collaboration provides it with expertise in proteomics, they added.
"The use of advanced proteomics is becoming an important approach for scientists," PNNL Director of Proteomics Research Richard Smith said in a statement. "Mass spectrometry promises to transform how we approach all omics analyses and increase our capability in predictive modeling."
During the co-laboratory's one-year pilot phase, some PNNL researchers and faculty from the OHSU Proteomics Shared Resource will collaborate on projects requiring PNNL's targeted mass spectrometry. A PNNL scientist embedded in the OHSU proteomic shared resource will aid OHSU researchers in sample preparation, project management, and data analysis and interpretation "in order to provide greater sensitivity and throughput."
Eventually, the organizations may also create a mass spec facility situated on the OHSU campus for targeted mass spectrometry and designed for the latest in PNNL technology, they said.