Led by Deputy Director Alan Tackett, Ph.D., a team of researchers at the Cancer Institute are using highly sophisticated instruments and powerful computing tools to help cancer researchers around the country identify new strategies to better enable the treatment of cancer.
These state-of-the-art technologies and tools are located in the Proteomics Shared Resource on the ninth floor of the Cancer Institute. With 15 uniquely trained scientists, the Proteomics Resource is helping researchers all over the United States push the boundaries of cancer discovery.
“Proteomics is a targeted approach used to measure and study proteins that can drive cancer development and progression. These abnormal proteins found in cancers can be targets for the development of new drugs to treat cancer,” said Tackett, who holds the Scharlau Family Endowed Chair for Cancer Research at UAMS.
“These proteins can serve as signatures for the early detection of cancer, providing information that can inform personalized medicine strategies for oncologists to customize treatment for cancer patients. Proteomics is a highly specialized area of research, uniquely available to our researchers,” Tackett said.
In 2020, the Proteomics Shared Resource received a prestigious $11 million federal grant to become designated as the state’s first National Resource for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). With this national designation, the group now provides proteomics to biomedical researchers across the nation, helping hundreds of cancer research groups funded by $50 million in federal research grants.
“The National Resource at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute is one of a select few NIH-supported resources that serve the entire United States, which puts us
at the forefront of supporting studies on a variety of human diseases including cancer,” said Michael Birrer, UAMS vice chancellor and director of the Cancer Institute.
UAMS’ Stephanie Byrum, Ph.D., Rick Edmondson, Ph.D., Samuel Mackintosh, Ph.D., and Aaron Storey, Ph.D. were key in establishing this national team.
In addition to speeding the pace of biomedical discoveries, the Proteomics Shared Resource is a foundational component to help the Cancer Institute achieve National Cancer Institute Designation.
The NIH Proteomics National Resource at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
The NIH Proteomics National Resource at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute supports cancer research across the U.S., including at these institutions:
- Arkansas Children’s Hospital
- Arkansas State University
- Barrow Neurological Institute
- Brown University
- Clemson University
- Dartmouth College
- Johns Hopkins University
- NIH/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
- Oklahoma State University
- Tulane University
- University of Arkansas
- University of California – Irvine
- University of California – Los Angeles
- University of Florida
- University of Hawaii
- University of Illinois – Chicago
- University of Iowa
- University of Kansas Medical Center
- University of Louisville
- University of Mississippi
- University of Mississippi Medical Center
- University of Montana
- University of Nebraska Medical Center
- University of New England
- University of New Hampshire
- University of North Carolina
- University of Oklahoma
- University of Rhode Island
- University of Southern California
- University of Texas – Austin
- Utah State University
- West Virginia University
- Yale University