Queen’s University Belfast and the drug-discovery company Almac Discovery are building a shared mass spectrometry facility to watch how potential drugs alter proteins inside living cells. This matters because many promising drug candidates fail in late-stage trials—often because researchers do not fully understand how the molecules interact with proteins in real biological environments. The new Chemoproteomics Centre of Excellence will give scientists a way to track those interactions early, using high-resolution mass spectrometry to detect chemical changes in proteins from cells treated with drug-like molecules. Currently, no such facility exists in Northern Ireland. If the centre succeeds, it will accelerate early-stage drug discovery by providing chemical probes and analytical tools that both academic and industrial partners can use. That could shorten the timeline from target identification to clinical candidate, reduce late-stage failures, and generate intellectual property and new drugs. The facility will also train apprentices and doctoral researchers, building a skilled workforce. Over time, the centre aims to attract inward investment and grow Northern Ireland’s life-sciences sector, strengthening its contribution to the broader UK economy.
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In this BBSRC Prosperity Partnership, Queen's University Belfast (QUB) and Almac Discovery will bring together their joint expertise to create a new state-of-the-art Chemoproteomics Centre of Excellence situated within QUB; this will be the first of its kind in the Northern Ireland region. Specifically, we will use the Prosperity Partnership to co-develop a new mass spectrometry proteomics facility that can study molecular changes in proteins from cells and tissues treated with therapeutic drugs and drug-like molecules ("chemical probes"). This facility builds on a well-established relationship between the partners in basic biological research and early-stage drug discovery (Almac), leveraging the capabilities and state-of-the-art expertise of QUB researchers in mass spectrometry and basic and translational biological research (namely inflammation, cell death and ion channels) across three University Research Centres (Cancer, Experimental Medicine and Pharmacy). The Centre of Excellence will provide completely new chemical tools that will open new areas of biology and a mass spectrometry platform that will benefit both partners, thereby enabling cutting-edge biological research and drug discovery. It is also envisaged that this facility will provide opportunities for other collaborators, both academic and industrial, to advance their basic research and R&D portfolios, providing a business model that will ensure that this Centre of Excellence will continue to support academic and industrial R&D in the region beyond the life of this project. Not only will the Centre of Excellence enhance our regional capabilities, it will also provide skills training for apprenticeships through to doctoral researchers and create value in the forms of new drugs, intellectual property and high quality academic publications (reputation). Thus, the Centre of Excellence will encourage inward investment and sectorial growth in Northern Ireland, helping to "level up" the capacity and contribution of the Northern Ireland Life Sciences sector to the broader UK economy. This is in line with both regional (10X economy, Department for Economy) and Life Sciences Vision (UK) strategies. Our ultimate vision is to build an internationally recognised regional resource whose chemical probes, experimental capabilities, knowledge and expertise can assist the research and development programmes of other regional, national and international industrial and academic partners. Thus, the creation of this industry-facing, University-based facility represents a unique opportunity to provide a step-change in proteomics-based experimental capabilities in Northern Ireland.
Ben C. Collins (Co-Investigator)Christopher Scott (Principal Investigator)Daniel Longley (Co-Investigator)Rebecca Coll (Co-Investigator)Robert Graham (Co-Investigator)
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