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The overall goal of the Seattle Proteome Center is the development of an array of new, systematic assays to comprehensively study the dynamics of cells in health and disease. To achieve this goal, the Center has brought together researchers with a broad range of expertise from the University of Washington, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Institute of Systems Biology, and has set the following specific aims:

First, the Center aims to develop an integrated technology platform to quantitatively and systematically determine different properties of proteins. These include the sequence identity of the proteins expressed in cells and tissues, modifications to the proteins that may alter their activities and the assembly of proteins into the multi-component molecular machines which control and carry out most biological functions. This goal will be achieved by a number of technology modules that are being concurrently developed and that, once integrated, collectively constitute a powerful analytical platform. To assure that the technology development efforts will be continually challenged, the Center will support 2-3 pilot projects annually, in which novel technical concepts or biological principles will be explored.

Second, the Center aims to apply the newly developed technologies to a broad range of biological research projects and to widely disseminate them. This will be achieved by the establishment of a proteomics high throughput facility at the ISB that will provide the interface between technology development and biological projects.

Third, the Center will apply advanced quantitative proteomics technologies to advance research into heart, blood and lung in health and disease. This will be achieved by the formation of three biology working groups consisting of collaborative research groups. The themes of the three working groups are, respectively, A: macrophage biology; B: cardiovascular and blood cell development, and C: blood vessel and cardiovascular signaling.

Fourth, the Center will develop project areas. Continual interplay between biologists that comprise the Biology Working Groups in each of these project areas and the Technology Working Group will allow testing and refinement of the new technology and will provide constant input for new proteomic technologies to address emerging biological problems.

Validated technologies with generic applicability will be broadly disseminated.

A list of of SPC co-investigators follows.

Alan Aderem, Ph.D. (ISB)