iHuman Holds Bio-MS Symposium

ON2018-11-26TAG: ShanghaiTech UniversityCATEGORY: iHuman Institute

The Symposium on Probing Protein Structures with Bio-MS and Complementary Technologies was held at ShanghaiTech University on November 18th, organized by Shui Wenjing Group of iHuman Institute and supported by Shanghai Institute for Advanced Studies, CAS. 

This symposium aims at exploring multiple Bio-MS techniques and complementary approaches to studying the structural composition, interaction interface and conformation dynamics of protein complexes. Technical breakthroughs, major applications and future directions of versatile Bio-MS techniques were introduced and discussed to help researchers outside the field better understand the unique contribution of Bio-MS to structural biology. A total of 11 speakers were invited to lecture and about 100 people attended the symposium.

Professor Huang Lan from UC Irvine and Professor Dong Mengqiu from NIBS introduced the latest developments of chemical cross-linking mass spectrometry (CXMS) for mapping interaction interfaces and dynamics of large protein assemblies. Professor Shi Yi from the University of Pittsburgh, Professor Wang Guanbo from Nanjing Normal University and Professor Li Huilin from Sun Yat-sen University lectured on the unique advantages of native MS and top-down MS in analyzing structural features of protein complexes from different angles. Research Associate Professor Yang Bei from SIAIS of ShanghaiTech and Dr. Zheng Jie from the Scripps Research Institute shared their experiences in studying protein structural dynamics using HDX-MS. The organizer of the symposium, iHuman Institute Research Associate Professor Shui Wenjing, reported on her group’s progress in the CXMS analysis of challenging GPCR proteins. Professor Zhao Qiang and Professor Tang Chun from CAS both shared their experiences and thoughts in applying MS techniques and complementary approaches to protein structural studies. Finally, a team member of Professor He Simin at Institute of Computing Technology, CAS, introduced new characteristics of the CXMS data processing software pLink developed by his group.

The speakers held fruitful discussions between each other and with the attendees. The speakers all praised the success of the symposium which has promoted the exchange of ideas and future development of interdisciplinary research on bio-mass spectrometry and structural biology. 

Deputy director Zhang Wenjun from SIAS, CAS delivered a speech

Professor Huang Lan from California University (UC Irvine) delivered a talk on chemical cross-linking mass spectrometry strategy

Professor Dong Mengqiu from NIBS introduced the development of new chemical crosslinkers

Professor Zhao Qiang from SIMM, CAS shared researches in applying MS techniques to GPCR structural studies.

Professor Tang Chun from Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, CAS delivered a talk about the combination of Bio-mass spectrometry and NMR

Group photo of some symposium attendees