The emerging field of Clinical Proteomics refers to the application of proteomic technologies to investigate protein expression differences in clinically obtained biological samples. A consequence of these approaches has been the renewed interest in identifying new biomarkers which may be useful for diagnosis of disease or monitoring of patient response to therapy.
This intensive 3 day workshop is designed to introduce basic and clinical researchers to some of the primary methods being used in biomarker discovery projects, as well as to explore the statistical and analytical challenges involved. The workshop will include seminal lectures by leaders in the field from academia and industry, opportunities for hands-on laboratory demonstrations, and roundtable panel discussions emphasizing critical methodological aspects of biomarker discovery projects.
Workshop lectures will cover a broad range of areas aimed at providing guidance and insight for participants to maximize their potential of success in biomarker discovery projects. Topics to be covered include the critical importance of study design, the requirement for consistent sample collecting and handling procedures, advantages and disadvantages of different analytical platforms, the role of high resolution mass spectroscopy, and the use of multivariate statistics in mining high dimension datasets.
To augment the introductory lecture material, in-depth practical lectures and individualized hands-on demonstrations will focus on 2 of the primary techniques utilized in Clinical Proteomics: 2D gel electrophoresis, including DIGE, and SELDI-TOF-MS. In addition to hands-on sample processing, participants will have the opportunity to thoroughly investigate analysis of datasets from both 2D gel and SELDI using computer lab demonstrations.
The workshop in Clinical Proteomics and Biomarker Discovery will provide participants a clear overview of the challenges and opportunities that exist in this new and exciting field, as well as concise and practical support of commonly used approaches.
