Collaboration Focuses on Advancing LCMS Techniques in Life Science Research

SAN JOSE, Calif. (August 13, 2012) – Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, has entered into a Technology Alliance Partnership agreement with scientists at Princeton University, establishing a formal collaboration to accelerate research in triple quadrupole and high-resolution accurate mass (HRAM) liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS) for life science applications.

The agreement, a broad collaboration between Thermo Fisher scientists and Princeton scientists includes: engaging in research, sharing samples and data that could lead to development of better techniques, exchanging ideas and opinions about improving instrument and software performance, ongoing discourse about current technology issues and publishing new methodologies and scientific advances. The groups had previously collaborated informally.

The alliance will focus on three research areas:

Metabolomics, within the laboratory of Joshua Rabinowitz, professor of chemistry at the Lewis Sigler Institute at Princeton.
Proteomics integrated with Molecular Biology and Infectious Diseases, within the laboratory of Ileana Cristea, assistant professor of molecular biology at Princeton.
Mass spectrometry/proteomics method development, with David Perlman at the Princeton Mass Spectrometry and Synthesizing / Sequencing Facility.

“Academic research labs are tremendous sources of innovation, which is why we’re so pleased to collaborate with Princeton scientists to pursue new paths toward a healthier world,” said Iain Mylchreest, vice president, Research and Development, Thermo Fisher. “Thermo Fisher is a leader in mass spectrometry, and their equipment has been instrumental in many discoveries by Princeton scientists,” said professor Rabinowitz. “This agreement formalizes our commitment to interact openly and actively to expedite the development and application of important new technologies.”

“This Technology Alliance Partnership is a welcomed extension of a productive collaboration that my laboratory has had with Thermo Fisher since I joined Princeton,” added professor Cristea. “Examples of these collaborative efforts are the optimization of the MALDI LTQ Orbitrap XL, the use of isobaric tags for quantification of protein interactions and the use of the EASY-Spray technology. This partnership will allow us to expand these collaborative efforts and accelerate the integration of developments in mass spectrometry and important biological discoveries.”