UAMS Establishes Proteomics Center in Little Rock

(IDeA National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics at UAMS)

UAMS has announced the launch of the Thermo Fisher Scientific Center of Excellence for Proteomics, the first and only academic-industry partnership of its kind in the U.S.

The partnership comes after Thermo Fisher Scientific, a global supplier of biotechnology services headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, entered into a formal agreement with the IDeA National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics at UAMS. IDeA was founded in 2020 with a $11 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), providing cost-effective access to proteomics for biomedical researchers in the U.S.

Proteomics allows researchers and clinicians to rapidly identify novel disease biomarkers, new drug targets and unique mechanisms driving human diseases. IDeA is already equipped with multiple Thermo Fisher technologies, aiming to provide premium quantitative proteomics services to its researchers.

As part of the agreement, Thermo Fisher will support annual proteomics educational workshops, and serve as a partner to provide on-site mass spectrometry technology for the NIH proteomics trainee program. It will also provide UAMS access to the latest and next generation technology for biomedical research.

The partnership aims to create an environment of innovation that will support discovery and development of new approaches and therapies to tackle challenging human diseases, including cancer.

“The study of proteins using proteomics is at the core of nearly all biomedical research and often serves as step one in the disease biomarker or drug discovery process,” Alan Tackett, director of the UAMS proteomics program, said in a press release. “The primary benefit of this unique academic-industry partnership is to bring the current and next-generation technology in proteomics to the UAMS campus to create a unique environment with world-class infrastructure to support biomedical researchers across the United States.”

IDeA has provided proteomics access to more than 1,500 researchers across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. It has also supported educational activities for more than 500 faculty, students and support staff.