First ASMS Hites Award for Outstanding Research Publication Presented to Prof. Alison Ashcroft for Her Use of Waters Synapt HDMS
03 Junio 2009 - 1:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
PHILADELPHIA, June 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Waters Corporation
(NYSE: WAT) announced today that the American Society for Mass
Spectrometry (ASMS) presented Prof. Alison Ashcroft of the
University of Leeds with the first Ron Hites Award for Outstanding
Research Publication in the Journal of the American Society of Mass
Spectrometry (JASMS). Prof. Ashcroft's paper titled, Monitoring
Copopulated Conformational States During Protein Folding Events
Using Electrospray Ionization-Ion Mobility Spectrometry-Mass
Spectrometry appeared in the December 2007 issue of JASMS and was
co-authored by Waters scientists Kevin Giles and Robert Bateman
along with University of Leeds researchers David Smith and
Professor Sheena Radford. Prof. Ashcroft's team acquired the
research data for the publication on a Waters(R) SYNAPT High
Definition MS(TM) (HDMS(TM)) System. She is Manager of the Mass
Spectrometry Facility in the Astbury Centre for Structural
Molecular Biology at the University of Leeds. ASMS judged the
publication on the basis of its "innovative aspects, technical
quality, likely stimulation of future research, likely impact on
future applications, and the quality of the presentation." Prof.
Ashcroft received the Award and $2,000 cash stipend at a ceremony
on Wednesday, June 3, in Philadelphia at the 57th ASMS Conference
on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics. The Award is named in honor
of Professor Ronald A. Hites of Indiana University who spearheaded
the creation of JASMS in 1988 while President of ASMS. JASMS is
devoted to the publication of research papers covering all aspects
of mass spectrometry from all fields of science including
chemistry, physics, geology, environmental, biological, health and
life sciences. Prof. Ashcroft's laboratory was one of the first
scientific laboratories to acquire a Waters SYNAPT(TM) HDMS System
to study the function of protein molecules and their assembly into
macromolecular complexes. Proteins are carefully folded,
three-dimensional long-chain molecules assembled by the human body.
When properly folded they regulate normal bodily functions. Several
high profile diseases including Alzheimer's, Creuzfeldt-Jakob's,
and Parkinson's, can develop when certain proteins become
misfolded, causing a chain of events that can lead to
self-aggregation and amyloid fibril formation. Thus determining a
protein's folded state is important and mass spectrometry is unique
in its ability to monitor independently co-populated biomolecules
in heterogeneous ensembles. Other research from this Group is
directed at unraveling the mechanism of virus capsid assembly and
determining the sub-unit specificity of pilus assembly. Shortly
after purchasing her SYNAPT(TM) HDMS System in 2007, Prof. Ashcroft
had this to say about it. "It's adding a new dimension to our
research. We can now quantify the amount of protein that is in its
native state and the amount that is unfolded and partially folded.
We can also monitor which particular conformers are consumed during
the assembly process. This is providing important new insights and
detail into how biomolecules work at the molecular level," adds
Prof. Ashcroft. The full reference for Prof. Ashcroft's article in
the Journal of the American Society of Mass Spectrometry is:
Monitoring co-populated conformational states during protein
folding events using ESI-IMS-MS, D. P. Smith, K. Giles, R. H.
Bateman, S. E. Radford, A. E Ashcroft, J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom.,
2007 Dec; 18 (12): 2180 - 90, DOI:10.1016/j.jasms.2007.09.017
Waters introduced the SYNAPT HDMS System at the American Society of
Mass Spectrometry annual meeting in Seattle in June of 2006. It is
the first commercially-available mass spectrometer with the ability
to analyze ions by their size, shape and charge in addition to
mass. About Waters Corporation (http://www.waters.com/) Waters
Corporation creates business advantage for laboratory-dependent
organizations by delivering practical and sustainable innovation to
enable significant advancements in such areas as healthcare
delivery, environmental management, food safety and water quality
worldwide. Pioneering a connected portfolio of separations science,
laboratory information management, mass spectrometry and thermal
analysis, Waters technology breakthroughs and laboratory solutions
provide an enduring platform for customer success. With revenue of
$1.58 billion in 2008 and 5,000 employees, Waters is driving
scientific discovery and operational excellence for customers
worldwide. Waters, SYNAPT, HDMS, and High Definition MS are
trademarks of Waters Corporation. DATASOURCE: Waters Corporation
CONTACT: Brian J. Murphy of Waters Corporation, +1-508-482-2614,
Web Site: http://www.waters.com/
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