Affiliations:

The Ben May Institute for Cancer Research
The Institute for Genomics & Systems Biology
Committee on Cellular and Molecular Physiology
The Center for Systems Biology of Oxygen Sensing

Contact Information:

Mark Ciaccio, Jones Group
Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery, Room 10240D
900 East 57th St.
Chicago, IL 60637
Home Phone: (773) 454-2600
Email: ciaccio@uchicago.edu

Objective:

To obtain a full-time position in the field of systems biology/technology development with a special interest in
expanding the use of the Microwestern Array to diverse fields of biology

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Research:

My current project has been the development the Microwestern Array (MWA) and the expansion of its capabilities
to diverse fields of biology. The MWA is a high-throughput method of quantifying protein abundance and
modification that combines the nanoscale lysate arraying technology of the Reverse Phase Lysate Array (RPLA)
with the electrophoretic separation characteristic of the Western blot. This technology creates an array of small
Western blots on a single sheet of nitrocellulose allowing the precise survey of hundreds of lysates and antibodies
at low cost. Specifically I have applied the MWA to characterize phosphorylation cascades and model cell phenotype
as a function of short-term phosphorylation kinetics of signaling molecules. In this manner, a multi-pathway model
was created quantitatively determining the positive and negative correlation of specific phosphosites to cell
phenotype. Ultimately this method may be used to connect drug treatments with cancer subtypes based on
phosphorylation kinetic signatures to effectively match therapeutics with disease states.