Stanford University Mass Spectrometry Training Grants
SUMS’ mission as a research resource is well established, supporting hundreds of researchers on thousands of projects each year. Because of the scale of this operation, the majority of this research, particularly for proteomics projects, is performed by facility scientists, with results returned to users to maximize consistency, accelerate progress, and simplify workflow. In the modern age, however, researchers with a deep understanding and hands-on experience in proteomics have distinct advantages: intimate familiarity with this complex data type is required to be able to make best use of it, and researchers who can run these projects independently are more efficient in their research as well as being in high demand career-wise.
This SUMS training grant will empower researchers with personalized, hands-on training in all phases of proteomics projects: experimental design, sample preparation, instrument operation, and data analysis. Experiencing the process from start to finish enables students to become well-rounded mass spectrometrists. Like any laboratory technique, it will require careful practice, repetition, and iteration to become proficient, and a significant time commitment of approximately 50% effort for one quarter, is expected. The payoff is not only essential skills for the students but also the ability to run successful MS analyses independently, thus reducing project costs down the line.
To assist students and their PIs in building this foundation for their laboratories, these training grants will cover SUMS staff scientist time for one-on-one training, as well as student projects’ instrument usage fees over the course of 3 months. This training grant will enable students to gain competitive skills with mitigated risk to their PIs. Over time, such “superusers” will also become valuable resources for their colleagues, as the foundation of a network of educated users who can not only successfully incorporate mass spectrometry to drive research progress forward, but also propagate this skill to their labmates.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss applications with SUMS proteomics staff before submission.
Early career graduate students, with PI approval. One proposal per PI lab.
Applications will be evaluated on the quality and feasibility of the proposed proteomics project, as well as on the long-term value of the training to both the student and their PI lab. A letter of support from the PI is required, acknowledging the time commitment of half of the student’s research effort for 3 months, as well as committing to buying the necessary supplies for the project, including capillary LC columns, reagents, and consumables; in some cases investment in software licenses may make sense.
Proposals should be concise and practical – the equivalent of 2 pages total (do not strive to use up the entire character limit for each section!) organized as follows:
- Training project title (up to 128 characters)
- Project background and significance (up to 1500 characters)
- Project goals - both training and scientific aims (up to 1500 characters)
- Experimental design & methods (up to 4000 characters)
- Long-term impact of this experiential education on student’s career and PI lab’s research (up to 2000 characters)
- Timeline - proposed month to start the 3 month training (up to 128 characters)
- PI’s Letter of Support - submitted as a recommendation letter
- Optional: Upload up to 3 figures in a single .pdf file, and refer to them by figure number in the application text
Funds will be applied toward SUMS shared resource fees, to cover instrument and staff scientist time for this in-depth training. Additional commitment from PI beyond the grant funds will be needed to cover project consumables and supplies.
