Coon Laboratories
Our research group is primarily focused on instrumental developments in mass spectrometry and in proteomics to address fundamental questions in cell biology.
A collection of driven, energetic, and passionate researchers.
Innovating mass spectrometry to drive biological discovery and advance human health.
Research
Our mission is to facilitate expedient, comprehensive analysis of biological molecules to advance biomedical research.
Untangling the multi-faceted networks that regulate complex organisms and their diseases will require innovative technologies to globally monitor many classes of biomolecules, including lipids, proteins, and metabolites. We aim to fill this technology gap by developing innovative mass spectrometry-based technologies.
Team
The Coon Group’s most valuable resource is its collection of driven, energetic, and passionate researchers.
Scientists in the Coon Laboratory have diverse backgrounds and skill-sets making our group a veritable melting pot of ideas. Students and staff work together in small teams tackling exciting projects ranging from building new mass spectrometry instrumentation to analyzing the proteomes of human tissue specimens.
Laboratory
Occupying newly renovated space within the Genome Center of Wisconsin, we are nestled between Chemistry, Biochemistry, Genetics, Biomolecular Chemistry, and the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery.
Our state-of-the-art laboratory houses approximately one dozen mass spectrometers, each equipped with gas or liquid chromatographs. We have a variety of hybrid mass spectrometer instrument configurations including quadrupole, quadrupole linear ion trap, and Orbitrap mass analyzers. This array of heavy mass spec artillery is complemented by more conventional laboratory instrumentation including plate readers, automated liquid handling robots, balances, centrifuges, etc.
Technology
Our laboratory is equipped with a dozen state-of-the-art hybrid mass spectrometers. With these systems, and close connections to our industrial partners, we innovate tomorrow’s mass spectrometry technology.
We are fortunate to house and operate the latest in high resolution, high performance mass spectrometer technology – including several of the latest generation Orbitrap systems. We have a long running collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world’s leading MS manufacturer, and through these interactions have complete access to modify and develop on these fully functional MS platforms. We work closely with the UW’s patent foundation (WARF) to transfer our new technologies to industrial partners for commercialization. Since 2006, WARF has filed dozens of patent applications based upon our inventions, leading to several commercial products. Many of the technologies currently under development have the similar promise to impact hundreds of laboratories worldwide to solve countless biomedical questions.
Latest From Coon Research Group
News
McKetney successfully defends
Justin McKetney has successfully defended his Ph.D., thesis "Advancing Mass Spectrometry-based Proteomic Analysis Strategies for…
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Articles
Peters-Clarke explores efficient and effective peptide fragmentation in tandem MS
Photoactivation and photodissociation are useful tools in tandem mass spectrometry, but implementation often involves cumbersome…
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Coon Alumni Group
Even beyond the impact of our science, the most important product of our research is a rapidly growing cohort of alumni who are now engaged in the biomedical enterprise in various academic and industrial settings.
Earn your Ph.D. with us
The Coon Group is always on the lookout for new members. Professor Coon accepts students from several UW-Madison doctoral programs including Chemistry, the Integrated Program in Biochemistry (IPiB), and Cellular & Molecular Pathology.
