Investigators in this field are very interested in proteomics, especially the clinical applications of this field. Since many nutritional effects are epigenetic and mediated by metabolitic and proteomic pathways, the field of proteomics is very salient.

It describes a variety of new methods, including mass spectrometry-based profiling for disease detection as well as new types of protein microarrays for signal pathway profiling, new target discovery, and patient-tailored therapy

While DNA is the information archive, the proteins are the machines, by and large, that do the work of the cell. Most often, it is disregulation of protein pathways which underpins most human disease. This paper lays out a framework for the use of a variety of proteomics tools for clinical applications. These applications include identification of at-risk phenotypes as a basis for preventative intervention, such as dietary changes, disease detection at early stages, and stratification and selection for targeted therapy once the disease has been detected.

We began this collaboration in 1997 as a Tissue Proteomics Initiative between our two laboratories. Dr. Petricoin has a background in biochemistry, signal transduction, and phosphoproteomics as well as cytokine-mediated biology. Dr. Liotta has an M.D. in Pathology and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering with extensive expertise in clinical testing, metastasis, and cancer biology, as well as the mathematical modeling of biological events. The goals of their collaboration were to develop and employ proteomic tools for real clinical applications.