Agilent
Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) and the National University of Ireland (NUI),
Galway, today announced the opening of a Biological Mass Spectrometry Facility
on the NUI Galway campus. The state-of-the-art facility is fully equipped with
the latest accurate-mass quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) and triple quadrupole
(QQQ) mass spectrometer platforms from Agilent.
Pictured is National University of Ireland, Galway, scientist Brendan Harhen during a laboratory demonstration at the launch of the Mass Spectrometry Facility to Professor Terry Smith (left), vice president for Research, National University of Ireland, Galway, and Gustavo Salem (center), vice president and general manager of Agilent's LC/MS business. (Photo: Business Wire)
The facility primarily focuses on functional genomics, proteomics, lipidomics
and metabolomics research. As part of the collaboration, NUI Galway will provide
application notes and data for key applications using the Agilent Q-TOF and
QQQ platforms. The facility will also be used to showcase new instruments to
Agilent customers and to run samples for demonstration purposes.
“The opening of this facility is a continuation of Agilent’s drive
to be a key technology partner for innovative research in academia,” said
Gustavo Salem, general manager for Agilent’s LC/MS business. “NUI
Galway has some of the top primary investigators in Europe. We look forward
to working closely with them to further their breakthrough research in the fields
of metabolomics and proteomics.”
“NUI Galway has recently made a substantial commitment to increase its
capability in mass spectrometry, in particular targeting life science research,”
said Professor Terry Smith, vice president for Research, NUI Galway. “With
our recent investment, sponsored by IDA, SFI and Agilent Ireland, NUI Galway
now has this capability.”
Primary investigators Dr. David Finn, Dr. Niclas Karlsson and Brendan Harhen
will run the mass spectrometers at the facility.
Dr. Finn is a lecturer in pharmacology and therapeutics and co-director of
the Centre for Pain Research at NUI Galway. The aim of Dr. Finn’s research
is to increase the understanding of the neurobiology of pain and anxiety and
support the development of novel therapeutic agents for their treatment.
Dr. Karlsson is one of the top researchers in mass spectrometry and bioinformatics
for sugar and protein identification. He established one of the first integrated
bioinformatic platforms for this kind of research and collaborated with the
Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics for generating glycobioinformatic resources
for the community.
Mr. Harhen is an honors biochemistry graduate from NUI Galway with a special
interest in facilitating ultra-trace quantitation of biomolecules in complex
matrices, such as bioactive lipid signalling molecules. He will support other
quantitative needs at NUI Galway, such as quantitative proteomics.
The collaboration between NUI Galway and Agilent is a result of Agilent’s
Academia Program, which facilitates collaborations with universities around
the world. The program assists universities with teaching, materials and creating
research partnerships.