EDITORIAL pubs.acs.org/jpr
The International Proteomics Tutorial Programme the Next Generation Proteome Scientists
Reaching Out to
ABSTRACT: One of the most critical functions of the various Proteomics organizations is the training of young scientists and the dissemination of information to the general scientific community. The education committees of the Human Proteome Organisation (HUPO) and the European Proteomics Association (EuPA) together with the other local proteomics associations are therefore launching a joint Tutorial Program to meet these needs. The level is aimed at Masters/PhD level students with good basic training in biology, biochemistry, mathematics and statistics. The Tutorials will consist of a review/teaching article with an accompanying talk slide presentation for classroom teaching. The Tutorial Program will cover core techniques and basics as an introduction to scientists new to the field. The entire series of articles and slides will be made freely available for teaching use at the Journals and Organizations homepages.
’ PROTEOME RESEARCH AS A GLOBAL SCIENCE DRIVER Currently there are more than 10 scientific proteomics journals that publish on protein expression research. In addition, there are an increasing number of well-recognized high impact journals that publish proteomic studies, where proteomics has become a mature part of life sciences. There is rapid development on proteomics technologies and platforms that allows for high quality data generation in biological studies, on both targeted analysis as well as wide window expression analysis, with both qualitative and quantitative outputs. This development opens up new opportunities for other life science research fields to collaborate with proteomics research groups or to build their own proteomic research capability. The quality and value generated today and in the coming future will be linked to the ability to master the wide range of expertise and areas that the proteomics field currently covers. Having said that, proteomics has become an important interdisciplinary field of research where scientists are meeting, collaborating, and delivering on novel biological findings. In this respect, the experimental study plan is of mandatory importance, which determines the quality and outcomes. These basic cornerstones of proteome research are, and will be, performed in global proteomic studies, with an ever increasing number of laboratories around the world. This is one of the reasons why the fundamental basis to this research area is given a priority in the International Proteomics Tutorial Programme (IPTP) that is intended to form bridges between science disciplines. ’ THE AIMS OF THE PROGRAMME Reviews are the usual path in which information is collated and disseminated but usually at a highly specialist level. There are a few Journals that are educational, but these are usually focused on the teacher. Thus, there is a clear need for an educational resource that is targeted at attracting young scientists interested in entering the field as well as informing established researchers in other areas of the potential of proteomics in their work. The tutorial program will consist of two parts, the review-like teaching articles and a complementary talk slide show. The concept of establishing an open access library of slide shows for teaching r 2011 American Chemical Society
appears to be completely novel and one that can only help the field. The teaching articles will be published in the four leading proteomics journals: Journal of Proteome Research, Journal of Proteomics, Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, and Proteomics. The tutorials should provide a historical background to enable students to understand how the techniques evolved to meet research demands. The basic concepts that underlie the subject will be clearly introduced and explained before state-of-the-art developments are described. The aim is to provide a novice with enough information to be able to critically read and understand articles in the current literature. Worked examples from recent papers will serve as a guide. The articles should provide extensive references to allow students to grasp the key concepts involved and how they evolved from a historical perspective. The references are extremely important and should guide students to major up-to-date reviews and key historical/breakthrough articles and indicate the main reference and entry-level books on the subject. However, it is expected that the tutorials will also be balanced and that the limitations and pitfalls involved will be highlighted. The slide shows are intended to be used as teaching aids in the classroom. The slides will be low in text and, as much as possible, diagrams, pictures, and photographs will be used. Clear illustrative diagrams are of greatest importance for the student’s comprehension of concepts. The entire Tutorial should provide approximately one hour of lecture time. The slides will be extensively explained in the notes section of the presentation and include references at the appropriate points and more extensive reading references (preferably recent books and monographs). The basic format should follow that of the flow in the article since both should be complementary to each other and expand concepts. Tutorial articles are initially by invitation, however suggestions for new and timely articles and obvious gaps will be considered. A one-page outline should be sent to Peter James for consideration by the education committee. Even though the articles are solicited, there is no guarantee of acceptance by a journal. The Tutorial will be subject to normal peer review by the journal and the HUPO
Published: August 05, 2011 3311
dx.doi.org/10.1021/pr200632u | J. Proteome Res. 2011, 10, 3311–3312
Journal of Proteome Research
EDITORIAL
and EuPA education committees will evaluate the slide show. Only if both the Tutorial article and PowerPoint presentation pass review will the contributions be accepted. N.B. Authors are responsible for assigning copyright to all illustrations used in both the articles and PowerPoint tutorials. € rgy A. Marko-Varga*,‡,§ Peter James*,† and Gyo †
Immunotechnology, Lund University, BMC D13, Lund 221 84, Sweden
‡
Division of Clinical Protein Science & Imaging, Biomedical Center, Department of Measurement Technology and Industrial Electrical Engineering, Lund University, BMC C13, SE-221 84 Lund, Sweden
§
First Department of Surgery, Tokyo Medical University, 6-7-1 Nishishinjiku Shinjiku-ku, Tokyo, 160-0023 Japan
’ AUTHOR INFORMATION Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected] and Gyorgy.Marko-Varga@ elmat.lth.se.
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dx.doi.org/10.1021/pr200632u |J. Proteome Res. 2011, 10, 3311–3312
