The mission of the Analytical Biochemistry (AB) Shared Resource is to provide high-quality analytical capabilities to members of the Masonic Cancer Center (MCC). The Resource offers access to state-of-the-art instrumentation and advanced mass spectrometric analyses in a timely and cost-efficient manner, and guides MCC members on sample preparation, instrumentation usage, and analytical rigor through extensive training. The Resource provides bioanalytical and mass spectrometric tools to research activities of the MCC Programs, in particular, the Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention (CC) and the Screening Prevention Etiology Cancer Survivorship (SPECS) Programs. These services and expertise are critical for the mission of the MCC because they assess exposure to and the biological effects of carcinogens, which are crucial to understanding both risk and risk mitigation. The researchers who use the Resource have made great strides in measuring biomarkers of human exposures to carcinogenic substances and the resulting DNA damage. Major ongoing research efforts that utilize the Resource include 1) Mechanisms of Ethnic/Racial Differences in Lung Cancer Due to Cigarette Smoking implements biomarkers to identify racial and ethnic differences in susceptibility to lung cancer; 2) the NIEHS-sponsored Children's Health Exposure Analyses Resource is advancing knowledge of environmental exposures that may impact children's health; 3) Role of cooked meat mutagens and DNA adduct formation in prostate cancer and 4) NIH- and FDA-sponsored cooperative agreements (U54DA031659, PIs E Donny [U Pitt] and D. Hatsukami), which include large clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of reduced nicotine cigarettes in decreasing cigarette smoking (PI: Hatsukami). Over the past 5 years, the Resource has provided essential mass spectrometry support for the research of 32 PIs of 39 NIH-funded grants addressing many programs in cancer, chemoprevention, and public health. The AB Shared Resource is led by Dr. Robert Turesky, who oversees coordinators for mass spectrometry services (Dr. Peter Villalta), AB services (Dr. Sharon Murphy), and chromatography services (Mr. Steven Carmella). Dr. Turesky replaced Dr. Stephen Hecht as the Director in 2013. Dr. Turesky has 30 years of experience in using bioanalytical mass spectrometry to characterize and measure biomarkers of dietary carcinogens. Dr. Villalta's role and responsibilities have also changed since he received an NCI R50 Research Specialist Award in 2016. He now dedicates 43% of his efforts to coordinating the mass spectrometry services, and 57% effort to providing advanced mass spectrometric analytical capabilities to members of the CC Program. Mr. Xun Ming, who manages the Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, was recruited in 2014, Yingchun Zhao, PhD, an analytical chemist with a proteomics background, was recruited in 2015, and Makenzie Pillsbury, BS, who previously worked for Dr. Hecht and has experience in LC/MS and GC/MS, was hired in 2017. All offer support services within the Mass Spectrometry Laboratory.
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