Barry L. Karger

Director,  James L. Waters Chair  in Analytical Chemistry The Barnett Institute, 341 Mugar Northeastern University 360 Huntington Avenue Boston MA 02115 email: b.karger@neu.edu voice: 617-373-2867 fax: 617-373-2855 Karger Research Group Page

Education

1960 B.S., Chemistry, MIT
1963 Ph.D. Chemistry, Cornell University

Research Interests

1. Trace Level Comprehensive Characterization of Complex Proteins
1. Use of large peptide fragment analysis for high sequence coverage of phosphorylated, glycosylated and other post-translationally modified structures. 
2. Analysis of kinetics of phosphorylation upon stimulation by extra-cellular signals of tyrosine kinase receptors.
3. Determination of binding partners of receptors upon stimulation by extra-cellular signals, e.g. drugs, after immunoprecipitation.

2. Analysis of Complex Proteins Using a Combination of Collision Induced Dissociation (CID) and Electron Transfer Dissociation (ETD). 
1. Trace level analysis of phosphorylated proteins using CID and ETD
2. Glycosylation analysis using CID for structure and ETD for site localization
3. Studies of fragmentation of charge reduced species

3. Ultra-Trace Analysis of Proteomic Samples Using Very Narrow Bore LC Columns
1. Monolithic packed columns of polystyrene divinylbenzene with 20 micron i.d..
2. Ultra-trace analysis using 10 micron and lower porous layer open tubular (PLOT) columns
3. Development of miniaturized on-line sample processing and analysis by LC/MS.

4. Differential Quantitative Analysis of Laser Capture Micro-Dissection (LCM) Samples from Breast Cancer Tumors and Dysplastic Cells from Cervical Cancer.
1. Trace analysis of LCM samples from breast cancer patients
2. Discovery of biomarkers for dysplastic cells from cervical tracings as a means of improved diagnosis of pap smears.
3. Analysis of paraffin embedded formalin fixed tissue.

5. Proteomic Analysis of Microorganisms
1. Discovery of energy conserved pathways of anaerobic bacteria (archaea) under carbon monoxide atmosphere – earliest form of life on earth.
2. Pathway analysis of methane producing anaerobic bacteria as an alternative source of energy
3. Use of proteomic analysis to enhance fermentation growth of microorganisms.

6. Discovery and Implementation of Monoclonal Antibodies as Specific Reagents for Biomarker Analysis for Use in Clinical Diagnosis
1. Discovery and generation of monoclonal antibodies to low-level disease specific markers in plasma.
2. Implementation of protein microarray monoclonal antibodies for diagnostic analysis.
3. Elucidation of clinical relevance of discovery of disease specific biomarkers.

7. Implantable Devices for Monitoring of Biomarkers in Blood and Tissue
1. Development of antibody coated nanoparticles for diagnostic purposes
2. In collaboration with the Center for Nanomanufacturing at Northeastern, implementation of a nanodevice with antibody coated nanoparticles for implementation in the blood stream of mice.
3. Determination of biomarker changes upon administration of drugs to mice.
4. Ultimately develop implantable devices in humans for monitoring various physiological levels of the body.

8. Development of Bioinformatic Tools for Proteomic Analysis
1. Algorithms for quantitative analysis of label-free and isotopically labeled samples
2. Novel tools for selection and annotation of CID spectra of glycopeptides
3. De novo peptide sequencing and identification of PTMs
4. Integration of proteomic data with metabolic and regulatory pathways

9. New Methodologies for Proteomic Analysis
1. Proteomic analysis of organisms with unsequenced genomes
2. Identification of metabolic bottlenecks in the production of important valuable anti-cancer compounds in plant cell cultures

Honorary Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 2007 .

2008 Torbern Bergman Medal from the Swedish Chemical Society, Analytical Division.

Recent Publications

Karger BL, Guttman A.  DNA sequencing by CE. Electrophoresis, Jun 2009; 30 Suppl 1:S196-202.(pubmed)

Lazarev AV, Rejtar T, Dai S, Karger BL. Centrifugal methods and devices for rapid in-gel digestion of proteins. Electrophoresis. Mar 2009; 30(6):966-73. (pubmed)

Jiang H, Wu SL, Karger BL, Hancock WS.  Mass spectrometric analysis of innovator, counterfeit, and follow-on recombinant human growth hormone. Biotechnol Prog. Jan-Feb 2009; 25(1):207-18. (pubmed)

Wu, Shiaw-Lin; Jiang, Haitao ; Lu, Qiaozhen ; Dai, Shujia ; Hancock, William S. and Karger, Barry L.   Mass Spectrometric Determination of Disulfide Linkages in Recombinant Therapeutic Proteins Using Online LC-MS with Electron-Transfer Dissociation   Anal. Chem.   2009 81(1):112-22   (link)

Luo Q, Rejtar T, Wu SL, Karger BL Hydrophilic interaction 10mum I.D. porous layer open tubular columns for ultratrace glycan analysis by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr A., Feb 2009;1216(8):1223-31(pubmed)

Dai S, Jia Y, Wu SL, Isenberg JS, Ridnour LA, Bandle RW, Wink DA, Roberts DD, Karger BL. "Comprehensive Characterization of Heat Shock Protein 27 Phosphorylation in Human Endothelial Cells Stimulated by the Microbial Dithiole Thiolutin."  J Proteome Res. Aug 23 2008, . 7(10):4384-95   pubmed 

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