NewS

Written by Aleksandra Nita-Lazar, National Insitute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, USA

The diversity concept is being widely applied and more and more often globally recognized – and HUPO is no exception. For a long time, HUPO has been committed to the principles of diversity, and this commitment is reflected in our membership and leadership. Welcoming differences, equal opportunity, diversity, and inclusion is not only a matter of civility, but a real benefit for any creative effort. Diversity has been long known as a biological force driving functional ecosystems, and genetic diversity in any population ensures biological success. More recently, diversity has been recognized and published in numerous reports and books reviewing the relevant research (to name a few excellent examples: ”Creativity and Problem Solving” by Scott Page; “Accuracy in Decision-making” by Katherine Phillips” and “Willful Blindness” and other books by Margaret Heffernan), demonstrating that any diverse group will always do better than a uniform one, bringing unique perspectives and abilities, fostering discovery, boosting innovation and preventing decision bias. Each individual brings unique capabilities, experiences, and characteristics, their own vision, igniting creativity and fueling resourcefulness. To gain access to the best ideas we need to create an environment where people feel supported, heard, and free to achieve their best and contribute to their full potential. The synergy of diverse teams is real.

At HUPO we are connected by a common interest in all aspects of proteome research; bringing our individual experiences will strengthen the organization further, so we intentionally cultivate diversity and inclusion. The members of HUPO represent scientists from all regions and levels – we have 48% student and Postdoc members and 38% of HUPO members are women. All the active members are eligible for election to the HUPO Council. The Nominations and Elections Committee (NEC) monitors and approves the nomination and election process. Two years ago, the requirement of 10 or more years of professional experience for eligibility was waived and now trainees and junior scientists are eligible and encouraged to be nominated. To promote diversity and reduce the dominance of well-known senior scientists in HUPO elections, each of the three regions (Eastern, Central and Western) has the authority to nominate two diversity candidates for each election, and these candidates are not directly voted on, but approved or not by the voting members. At present, 31% of the Council are the diversity delegates.

The NEC is currently looking for a new co-chair committed to improving the diversity within the HUPO leadership. HUPO members interested in this position and in making their vision and ideas a reality are encouraged to apply! Contact office@hupo.org.

Connect with leaders of the Biology/Disease-Driven Human Proteome Project (B/D-HPP) at their first PTMs in Human Disease webinar focused on showcasing approaches to investigate post-translational modifications (PTMs). This webinar will consist of seven (7) presentations and a panel discussion among speakers and participants.

See list of speakers and presentation topics here: Webinar Flyer

Date: Monday, April 26, 2021

Time: 0600 PST; 0900 EST; 1300 UTC (Three (3) hours) Find your local time zone

Zoom meeting link: https://princeton.zoom.us/j/99080442592

Sanjeeva Srivastava, IIT Bombay, India

The flourishing field of advanced multi-omics technologies opened new avenues for understanding health and disease biology, specifically identifying disease-specific biomarkers and developing potential therapies. Among all multi-omics technologies, Proteomics has time and again proved vital to provide insight into disease pathology. The workflow of designing a proteomics experiment and making sense out of that data is always challenging, especially for beginners in the field.

To aid these scientists and students, Prof. Sanjeeva Srivastava from IIT Bombay, in collaboration with DST, India, organized a two weeks’ workshop on ‘Basics and Advanced Proteomics Approaches Workshop’ from 15th to 26th February 2021 to spread the knowledge in high throughput proteomics technologies and the data analysis strategies using advanced software like- MaxQuant, Proteome Discoverer, MetaboAnalyst and Reactome.

This event was a success due to the eminent scientists and experts from the industry from India and Abroad who shared their research experience, knowledge, and expertise in that field. In addition to that, Participants, mainly faculties from different universities/ institutions of India, made the workshop more interactive rather than lecture series. All participants were provided some group projects to make them more confident in data analysis and to build collaboration between them in the near future.

The first week of the workshop was conducted to enlighten the participants’ knowledge in MS-based proteomics, various approaches of quantitative proteomics like- gel-free and gel-based proteomics, and acquaint them with software for primary proteomic data analysis. In the morning sessions, plenary speakers including Prof. Marc Wilkins, Matthias Ulhén, Bernhard Küster, and Prof. Mark Baker, other eminent scientists including Prof. Surekha Zingde, Utpal Tatu, Mathias Wilhelm, Anthony Purcell gave an insightful talk on various aspects of proteomics and its applicability in clinical research. The afternoon sessions were designed to give the participants a hands-on experience in sample preparation for quantitative proteomics, including protein extraction and digestion, sample run in the mass spectrometer, monitoring of sample run, and primary and secondary analysis of proteomics data. The second week of the workshop was designed to introduce participants to the high throughput proteomics technologies like targeted proteomics, label-free biosensors like SPR, BLI, protein microarray, and network analysis to infer the biological significance from the MS data. In this week, participants got the opportunity to hear from esteemed scientists and researchers in the proteomics field Prof. Xiaobo Yu, Prof. Henning Hermjakob, Dr. Jau-song Yu, Dr. Suman Thakur. This week was more enriched with tech-talks; Mr. Michael Johnson, Dr. Rodrigo Barderas, Dr. Tian-Hua Wang, Dr. Debadeep Bhattacharyya shared their research work and the developed techniques to elevate the proteomic research. The major attraction of the second week was the group project which made participants more familiar with handling the mass spectrometric data.

Nowadays, it has become essential to upgrade us with current trends and advances in proteomics technologies to facilitate the translation of lab research to clinics. Herewith, this two weeks long workshop gave the participants an insight to use these high-throughput proteomics technologies for the progression of the clinical research.

All the workshop recordings are available at Proteomics Workshop YouTube video playlist link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIaqGH0Iwt3h01pDpyAvyJe_9PIxE1f2I

The HUPO B/D-HPP Executive Committee is excited to announce an upcoming human proteome webinar organized by B/D-HPP in April/May 2021! The webinar will be the start of a series of online events to highlight recent progresses in proteome research from leading investigators around the globe.

The theme of the first webinar will be "PTMs in Human Disease". This 3-hour event will feature talks from ~5 to 7 leading experts on proteomics approach toward multiple types of common and rare post-translational modifications in the human proteome. More information including speaker list, title, webinar time and weblink will be posted in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned!

Did you know HUPO has a YouTube channel? From the 2017 world congress welcome address by former 47^th Vice President of the United States Joseph R. Biden Jr., to a series of interviews on perspectives in proteomics, check out videos recorded at our past congresses on YouTube.

PROTEOMICS PERSPECTIVE - GLIMPSES (PART-I)

An interview series of proteomics experts has been undertaken over the last several HUPO world congresses, and describe the challenges and goals of current basic and clinical research in the proteomics field. This perspective series is directed by Prof. Sanjeeva Srivastava, IIT Bombay, Mumbai.

July 6-8, 2021

Abstract submission and early bird registration are now open for the British Society for Proteome Research (BSPR) Interact 2021 meeting. The conference features prominent and upcoming scientists from the UK and across the globe, presenting the latest research and methodology in the field of proteomics, as well as participating in round table discussions.

For more information, including on how to register and submit your abstract, please visit www.bspr-interact.com. To stay up to date, follow the BSPR on Twitter and Facebook @UKBspr, and join the BSPR LinkedIn group @BSPR - British Society for Proteome Research.

Did you attend HUPO Connect? Don't forget you have access to all recordings until March 31, 2021. Didn't attend HUPO Connect? On-demand recordings are still available for purchase. Learn more..

The Nominations and Elections Committee will be seeking candidates to serve on HUPO Council for a three-year term beginning January 2022 (2022-2024). Call for nominations will open on Thursday, March 25, 2021. Stay tuned for more updates in the weeks to come!

Do you know someone who has made an impact in the field of proteomics and deserves recognition for it? Nominate them for a HUPO award. Submission deadline is Friday, April 30, 2021. Click here to review the nomination requirements and submit...

Checkout the latest HUPOST released today: February HUPOST 2021