Young Jin Lee
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Research Interests
Mass spectrometry is arguably the most sensitive analytical technique in global analysis and now its application is extended to biological marcromolecules. The two most critical post-genomic interdisciplinary sciences, proteomics and metabolomics, largely depend on mass spectrometry for identification and quantification of the genomic products for the system biological investigation.
Our lab uses cutting edge mass spectrometry technique to study proteomics and metabolomics. The major project is developing and applying mass spectrometry based structural proteomics that will supplement current X-ray or NMR based protein structure determination. Chemical cross-linking of in-tact proteins or protein complexes followed by enzymatic digestion and mass spectrometric analysis of cross-linked sites has been recently attracting enormous attention as a low-resolution alternative of protein structure analysis. Dr. Lee recently developed a shotgun approach which supersedes other methods in its sensitivity and throughput. We will further develop this technique to map 3D structures of proteins and protein complexes unconquerable by X-ray or NMR. Our ultimate goal is freezing in vivo protein interactome and mapping their real time structures.
Another project we have is mass spectrometric imaging of plant metabolome in collaboration with Dr. Yeung. We will develop a novel approach, de novo metabolite profiling, to characterize metabolites on target without standards.
