The ACGT, UP and CSIR recently hosted an Introduction to Proteomics Workshop which ran from the 11th to the 12th of May 2017 at the University of Pretoria Medical School. The workshop was in response to the “Workshops and Training Needs” survey that was sent out to the ACGT in which an introductory proteomics workshop was highlighted as a need.
The workshop was attended by researchers new to the field of proteomics. Delegates hailed from the University of Pretoria (UP), the Agricultural Research Council, the University of the Witwatersrand as well as Vaal University of Technology and Cape Town University.
Dr Stoyan Stoychev (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR) and Prof Duncan Cromarty (UP Immunology) lead the team of researchers who facilitated the workshop. The first day of the workshop was facilitated by Ms Chanelle Pillay (UP), Dr Previn Naiker (CSIR), Prof Cromarty and Dr Stoychev. The second day was facilitated by Ms Kim Sheva (UP), Ireshyn Govender (CSIR) and Dr Stoychev. Topics covered included: mass spectrometry basics, proteomics experimental design and sample preparation, mass spectrometry-based workflows, MALDI-IMS, as well as data processing and interpretation. The delegates also got a chance to discuss their individual projects with the facilitators as well as complete a group assignment in which they were given different proteomics scenarios to work through. All the workshop facilitators have been through extensive Proteomics training provided by Prof Katherine Lilley and Prof Lennart Martens over the past four years and Dr Stoychev and Prof Cromarty are leading proteomics researchers in South Africa.
The ACGT will be hosting a more advanced proteomics course later in the year (11-13 October 2017) which will focus on post translation modification phosphorylation and protein structural characterisation using HDX-MS. The facilitating team will be led by Prof Ole Jensen from Denmark. More information regarding this workshop will be circulated on the ACGT mailing lists.
Some feedback from the workshop:
- I would highly recommend this course to other young researchers because there were factors in a scientist’s research that were discussed starting from the sampling to data analysis. Although it was mainly based on proteins, the workshop was also open to other ideas. The facilitators were experts. Therefore, they were able to touch on every aspect and provide answers to difficulties encountered by researchers. Lastly, the workshop offered us an opportunity to engage with other colleagues that we didn’t imagine that we will meet with along the way. It was a great opportunity to establish collaboration and make contact with each other.
- It (the workshop) provided a well-elaborated introduction to proteomics, theoretically and practically, and has allowed for a more focused approach to my research and the consideration of even better options for data analysis and presentation.
- The presenters and organisers were very welcoming, patient, informative and open to any questions and clarifications. It created a great atmosphere for learning.