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Dr. William E. Haskins

    William E. Haskins, Ph.D. Asst. Prof., Dir. of the RCMI Proteomics & Protein Biomarkers Cores Dept. of Biology- BSE 3.108A The University of Texas at San Antonio One UTSA Circle San Antonio, Texas 78249-0662 william.haskins@utsa.edu ph:(210)458-6975 fx: (210)458-5658
Background
    William E. Haskins, Ph.D., joined the Department of Biology at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) in June of 2007 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology. Dr. Haskins received his doctoral degree in Bioanalytical Chemistry from the University of Florida and completed post-doctoral fellowships at the McKnight Brain Institute at the University of Florida and Sandia National Laboratories at Livermore. He worked as a scientist for Genentech's prestigious Department of Analytical Chemistry and as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry for the Children's Cancer Research Institute at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) prior to joining UTSA. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology and the Director of the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)-funded Research Centers for Minority Institutions (RCMI) Proteomics & Protein Biomarkers Cores at UTSA. He also holds a position as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology & Oncology, at UTHSCSA. Throughout his career, Dr. Haskins has focused on discovering post-translational modifications (PTMs) of fascinating proteins. His current research is focused on improving the manufacture of biologics and reducing childhood cancer health disparities.
Research
  1. Proteomics of Biologics: The manufacture of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and other recombinant proteins in mammalian cells and microorganisms will benefit tremendously from online measurement and control process analytical technology (PAT) for optimization of cell culture and purification processes. The Haskins Lab, in collaboration with biotechnology companies, is exploring novel PAT towards more efficient and innovative processes for manufacturing mAbs in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and other hosts. CHO cells also serve as an excellent model system for understanding biopolymer synthesis in mammalian cells and for developing proteomic methods.
  2. Proteomics of Stem Cells & Children's Cancers: The discovery of pluripotent cancer stem cells suggests that all cancers arise from genetic mutations in single malignant stem cells. The Haskins Lab, in collaboration with the Perlman Lab and the Children's Oncology Group (COG), is exploring novel stem cell pluripotency factors (DNA-binding transcription factors involved in self-renewal and differentiation) and PTMs of these factors in pediatric germ cell tumors, to provide a greater understanding of pluripotency and children’s cancer.
  3. Protein Biomarkers of Health Disparities: Protein biomarkers are powerful tools used to diagnose and to design targeted treatments for a myriad of diseases, and their impact on human health continues to increase. A biomarker is a measurable indicator of a specific biological state, particularly one relevant to assessing the risk of having or developing a disease, or identifying the stage of a disease. Biomarkers can be used clinically to screen for, diagnose, or monitor the activity of diseases and to guide molecularly targeted therapy or assess therapeutic response. The proteome’s complexity and specificity make protein biomarkers both ideal and challenging to discover. The proteome is much more complicated than the genome because, in addition to alternative splicing of RNA and the limiting number of ribosomes available for translation, proteins are synthesized from more than 20 natural amino acids and more than 300 PTMs such as glycosylation, phosphorylation, and oxidation. The proteome is also genome-, cell-, tissue-, and environment-specific and in an accelerated state of change compared to the relatively constant genome. For example, in humans, approximately 33,000 genes are translated into an estimated 2 million proteins that may span up to 12 orders of magnitude in abundance. Paradoxically, there are less than 100 protein biomarkers that are routinely measured in blood today. The Haskins Lab, in collaboration with clinical investigators, is interested in discovering protein biomarkers of disease in underrepresented populations.
Selected Publications
  1. Ottens AK, Kobeissey FH, Golden EC, Zhang Z, Haskins WE, Chen SS, Hayes RL, Wang KKW, and Denslow ND. “Neuroproteomics in Neurotrauma”, Mass Spectrometry Reviews, 25(3), 380-408, May-Jun, 2006. Pubmed.
  2. Haskins WE, Novak P, Ayson MJ, Light YK, Schoeniger JS, Young MM, and Kruppa GH. “Unambiguous Assignment of Intramolecular Chemical Cross-Links In Modified Mammalian Membrane Proteins By Fourier Transform-Tandem Mass Spectrometry”, Analytical Chemistry, 77(16):5101-6, Aug 15, 2005. PubMed.
  3. Haskins WE, Kobeissy F, Wolper R, Ottens AK, Pineda J, Wang KKW, and Hayes RL. “Rapid Discovery of Putative Protein Biomarkers Of Traumatic Brain Injury By SDS-PAGE-Capillary Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry”, Journal of Neurotrauma, 22 (6): 629-644, Jun, 2005. PubMed.
  4. Ottens AK, Haskins WE, Michel ME, Denslow ND, Hayes RL, and Wang KKW. “A Multidimensional Differential Proteomic Platform Using Dual-Phase Ion-Exchange Chromatography-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis/Reversed-Phase Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry”, Analytical Chemistry, 77(15):4836-4845, Aug 1, 2005. Pubmed.
  5. Wang KKW, Ottens AK, Haskins WE, Liu MC, Kobeissey F, Denslow ND, Chen C, and Hayes RL. “Proteomic Studies of Traumatic Brain Injury”, International Review of Neurobiology (Proteomics Volume), 2004.
  6. Dickinson DN, LaDuc MT, Haskins WE, Gornushkin I, Winefordner JD, Powell DH, and Venkateswaren K. “Species Differentiation of a Diverse Suite of Bacillus Spores Using Mass Spectrometry Based Protein Profiling”, Applied Environmental Microbiology, 70(1):475-82, Jan 2004. PubMed.
  7. Haskins WE, Watson CJ, Powell DH, and Kennedy RT. “Discovery And Neurochemical Screening Of Peptides In Brain Extracellular Fluid By Chemical Analysis Of In Vivo Microdialysis Samples”, Analytical Chemistry, 76(18):5523-33, Sep 15, 2004. PubMed.
  8. Haskins WE, Powell DH, and Kennedy RT. “Capillary LC/MS/MS: A Method for Monitoring and Discovering Neuropeptides In Vivo”, Monitoring Molecular Neuroscience, Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on In Vivo Methods, 19-20, 2001.
  9. Kennedy RT, Watson CJ, Haskins WE, Powell DH, and Strecker RE. “In Vivo Neurochemical Monitoring by Microdialysis and Capillary Separations”, Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol., 6(5), 659-665, 2002. PubMed.
  10. Haskins WE, Wang Z, Watson CJ, Rostand R, Witowski S, Powell DH, and Kennedy RT. “Capillary LC-MS2 at the Attomole Level for Monitoring and Discovering Endogenous Peptides in Microdialysis Samples Collected in Vivo”, Analytical Chemistry, 73, 5005-5014, 2001. PubMed.
  11. Henegariu O, Grober, Haskins WE, Bowers M, State, Ohmido, Bray-Ward, and Ward. Biotechniques, “Rapid DNA Fiber Technique for Size Measurements of Linear and Circular DNA Probes”, 31(2), 246, 2001. PubMed.
  12. Emory S, Krug J, Haskins WE, and Nie SN. "Direct Observation of Size-Dependent Optical Enhancement in Single Metal Nanoparticles", Journal of the American Chemical Society, 120(31), 8009-8010, 1998.
  13. Lyon WA, Fang M, Haskins WE, and Nie SN. "A Dual-Beam Optical Microscope for Observation and Cleavage of Single DNA Molecules", Analytical Chemistry, 70(9), 1743-1748, 1998.
Patents
  1. US Patent App No. 20040014143 “Method and Apparatus for Detecting and Monitoring Peptides, and Peptides Identified Therewith”. Pending.
Selected Presentations
  1. "In Vivo Neuroproteomics", Dept. of Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, 12/06.
  2. "In Vivo Neuroproteomics", Dept. of Neurosurgery, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 1/07.
  3. "Phosphoproteomic Analysis of Tumor Suppression by Gap Junctions", Genetic Integrity & Tumor Development, San Antonio Cancer Institute, 8/07.
  4. "Protein Sequencing by Tandem Mass Spectrometry", Proteomics Journal Club, University of Texas at San Antonio, 8/07.
  5. "Systems Biology of Embryonic & Neoplastic Stem Cells", Stem Cell Journal Club, Children's Cancer Research Institute, 10/07.