Journal of Microbial & Biochemical Technology

Matthew B O’Rourke

Biography

Dr Matt Padula operates the Proteomics Core Facility, the main purpose of which is to provide high level technical support and the instrumentation required for researchers to perform their research projects without having to spend long periods of time learning the complicated techniques and instruments needed to answer the scientific question they want answered. The Core is equipped with the knowledge, expertise and instrumentation to perform almost all proteomic, protein chemistry and metabolomic experiments that could be of use to the faculty’s researchers. In addition, Core staff have built relationships with other institutions and research groups to gain access to instrumentation and expertise not available within UTS. Dr Padula has 18 years experience in protein chemistry, liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry analysis and characterization of peptides and proteins by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS), electrophoresis and sample preparation by native and denaturing methodologies. In this time he has performed protein extraction, fractionation and analysis on organisms such as Mycoplasma, bacteria, yeast, mammalian tissue and cells, plant tissue, parasites including Fasciola, Toxoplasma, Eimeria, Haemonchus and Plasmodium, paralysis ticks, coral, snake venom and the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus. Dr Padula has expertise in nanoelectrospray mass spectrometric analysis of peptides and proteins, the quantitation of peptides and proteins using mass spectrometry and the determination of de novo peptide sequence from tandem mass spectrometry data.  

Research Interest

Development of fractionation and analysis techniques for the analysis of proteins, protein expression, post-translational modifications of proteins, and protein complexes in their native and denatured states. These techniques use chromatographic and electrophoretic approaches combined with classical and targeted mass spectrometry techniques. The model wall-less bacteria Mycoplasma, a product of reductive evolution, is used extensively to develop these tecnniques.