Dr. Daniel McCormick is currently the co-director of the Mayo Proteomics Research Center (MPRC), director of the Mayo Peptide Synthesis Facility, and director of the Protein Chemistry and Proteomics Shared Resource of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. The MPRC provides foundation wide support and services in solid-phase peptide synthesis, protein identification by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), mass determination of analytes (e.g. proteins, peptides) by ESI-TOF MS, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (1D and 2D gels), protein separation by FPLC/HPLC methodology, and computer-aided protein sequence analysis along with in silico structural modeling of proteins and polypeptides.
The center also supports basic research in expression proteomics, and implements new instrumentation for the comprehensive analysis of proteins by mass spectrometry (e.g., post-translational modifications including phosphorylation). In addition, the MPRC offers a wide range of methods for protein preparation, chemical modification, and protein isolation by liquid chromatography (LC), which include reverse-phase HPLC, FPLC, micro, and nano LC.
Current research in Dr. McComick's laboratory is focused in the following four areas: (1) Synthesis of human neurotensin (NT) and its analogues for binding studies to brain receptors in human antinociception, dopamine transport, and drug addiction including cocaine and nicotine dependence; (2) Synthesis and characterization of T-cell epitopes in Hashimoto?s autoimmune human thyroiditis using HLA Class II transgenic mouse models; (3) Identification and characterization of disease-inducing proteins involved in the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), and (4) Development of methods for mapping sites of protein phosphorylation (PrP) by tandem mass spectrometry and chemical-enzymatic cleavage of modified PrP sites.