Capabilities Spotlight: Multiomics Mass Spectrometry Core

The potential threat of unknown or unexpected chemical or biological agents, whether weaponized or naturally occurring, is one of the most concerning defense problems the U.S. faces. Even known agents can present an immense threat to the safety and security of the Nation and its warfighters.

To understand how to potentially prevent these agents from causing harm, it is essential to understand exactly how various chemical and biological agents can affect the human body at the subcellular level, including changes in proteins and metabolites.

The Multiomics Mass Spectrometry Core facility at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) is uniquely equipped to advance this understanding. It is home to over $10M in state-of-the-art robotics equipment and mass spectrometry instrumentation that are used by some of the most talented researchers in the field who execute highly optimized and automated processes to obtain fast, accurate answers.

"Leveraging omics is a key part to any new drug development project for the Department of Defense (DOD)," said Dr. Terry Thiem, director for medical countermeasures at the National Strategic Research Institute at the University of Nebraska. "The information proteomics provides helps uncover post-translational modifications to proteins, which is key to deciphering disease mechanisms and mechanisms of action for drug development. Metabolomics is equally valuable to drug development when assessing drug metabolism and toxicity as well as identifying biomarkers associated with diseases."