Coon Laboratories
Our laboratory develops and applies mass spectrometric technology to study human health. We use these tools to answer fundamental questions in cell biology and to study human diseases including Alzheimer’s, diabetes, heart failure, cancer, obesity, asthma, among several others. The research team currently consists of twelve Ph.D. students, two postdoctoral fellows, two undergraduate researchers, and six staff scientists.
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.
Gallery
In addition to our research in the lab, our group presents our research results all over the world and, occasionally, we kick back and relax together.
Typically each member of our team attends at least one national conference per year; however, we often present our work at international meetings in far away destinations including Stockholm, Paris, Kyoto, Taipei, Hong Kong, Tuscany, Vienna, and many others. When we are not in the lab or at a conference, we sometimes hang out together at Badger football games, in corn mazes, on Lake Mendota, or on the dodgeball court.
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Articles
Nicholas Riley Featured in Badger Chemistry News
Nicholas Riley was featured in Badger Chemistry News! Read the interview here: https://badgerchemistnews.chem.wisc.edu/2018/07/11/nicholas-m-riley/
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