NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) — Virginia Tech is starting a mass spectrometry research incubator that will study the proteomics and metabolomics of host-pathogen relationships, the University said today.
Using $26 million for equipment purchases granted by the Commonwealth Research Initiatives, Virginia Tech said it aims to discover and understand the chemical nature of stress responses to such conditions as bacterial infections and microbial responses to environmental changes.
Virginia Tech said it will use facilities at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, which recently purchased a 454 GS-FLX sequencer, along with a new MALDI-time of flight mass analyzer, a quadrupole ion-trap mass spectrometer, and a nanoflow liquid chromatographer.
Associate professor Richard Helm, who will manage the incubator, said he plans for an “open facility” that will allow researchers to generate new grants and contracts will allow students to gain experience and enhance their future marketability.