Professor Edgar Arriaga Kick Off Seminar

Departmental Seminar
Professor Edgar Arriaga
Department of Chemistry
University of Minnesota
Host: Professor Valerie Pierre

Abstract

Expanding the Repertoire for Single Cell Analysis through Mass Cytometry

The analysis of single cells could open the gates to understand the molecular basis of cellular interactions that define the origins of human disease and aging. Early single cell analyses efforts demonstrated feasibility, but lacked the scalability needed in the clinical and biomedical fields. Mass cytometry (a.k.a. Cytometry by Time-of-Flight, CyTOF) is a relatively new technique that has combined flow cytometry and mass spectrometry to define a high-throughput and multi-parametric analysis of single cells. This presentation will describe how we are applying chemical principles to expand the use of mass cytometry, to investigate the foundations of human aging, and expand its scope to the analysis of individual organelles.

Research

Our research efforts combine expertise in bioanalytical chemistry, chemical biology, and biomedical engineering. We develop unique methods and instrumentation to characterize the chemical, biochemical, and physiological properties of single biological cells and their subcellular components (organelles). These resources enable single cell and subcellular studies that are essential to investigate biological complexity, which presently sets limitations to the research carried out in the biomedical and biotechnological fields. Within these fields we strive to help answers key questions related to the aging process, diabetes and obesity and neurodegeneration as we apply our developments to biological models including mammalian cell cultures, murine and human skeletal muscle, and Caenorhabditis elegans.