Think all cancers are alike? Think modern proteomics science makes cancer diagnosis infallible? Think all lab experiments are held to the same standard? Think again. Please join us for a very special talk and learn the truth about cancer diagnosis and experimental design.
Who: Dr. Keith Baggerly, MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas
Title: Proteomics, ovarian cancer, and experimental design
Date: Monday, April 19, 2010
Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Venue: Room A104, Clark Building [map]
Host: Dana Gammelgaard, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Just as microarrays let us measure expression levels of thousands of genes, mass spectrometry lets us measure the expression of hundreds of proteins. Using spectra from easily available samples (e.g., serum), we seek proteins linked to differences like the presence or absence of cancer. This approach was claimed to provide near perfect diagnostic accuracy for ovarian cancer, and a home-brew test (OvaCheck) was publicly advertised. In this talk, we introduce the mass spectrometry variants of matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization/time of flight (MALDI-TOF), and surface-enhanced laser desorption and ionization (SELDI-TOF). We then take a pictorial tour through the raw data. However, the data most clearly shows not biological structure, but rather the need for careful experimental design (our broader theme).
Keith A. Baggerly, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Read more about his research interests here. Please contact Dana if you would like to meet with Dr. Baggerly during his visit to CSU.
