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Proteogenomics Method Enables Analyses for Cancer Medicine & Marine Research
From molecular biology to proteogenomics – an analytical approach that combines information on genomics, proteomics and transcriptomics: During his doctoral thesis, Dr Bernhard BlankLandeshammer developed a peptide sequencing method at ISAS that can be applied in many ways. His proteogenomic method makes it possible to identify peptides in tissue samples using mass spectrometry.
The 31-year-old molecular biologist was able to contribute the analytical method to the initiative »Cancer Moonshot« to find and measure point mutations in tissue samples from colon cancer patients. The initiative, launched in 2016 by then Vice-President Joe Biden, aims at speeding up cancer research. For this purpose, ISAS collaborates with research institutions from North America on proteogenomic methods to improve research on the causes of cancer and to develop new therapies for precision medicine.
Blank-Landeshammer’s method is not only suitable for cancer research, but also for climate research. In cooperation with the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (Leibniz-Zentrum für Marine Tropenforschung, ZMT) in Bremen, he has used his method to study foraminifera, single-celled marine organisms. The organisms provide geoscientists with much information, for example on water temperature, salinity or the pHvalue. “With the help of proteogenomic analysis, it is possible to measure the cellular stress response of the foraminifera to the increased ocean temperatures as a result of climate change,” explains Blank-Landeshammer.
Dr Bernhard Blank-Landeshammer completed his doctorate in the research group Proteomics and developed a method to identify peptides in tissue samples using mass spectrometry.
Proteomics Research Group
(formerly named Protein Dynamics) Prof Dr Albert Sickmann T: +49 (0)231 1392-100 E: albert.sickmann@isas.de
What happened after the doctorate at ISAS?
Working on his doctorate, Blank-Landeshammer worked in the Proteomics research group from April 2015 to December 2019. After his time at ISAS, Blank-Landeshammer returned to his native home Austria in 2021. He is now working at the Centre of Excellence for Food Technology and Nutrition at the University of Applied Sciences Wels.
(BW)
