Highlights of the first BSPR London Regional Meeting and Fifth Imperial Proteomics Day

Now that the genomics revolution is tailing off proteomics promises an even more radical transformation of biological and medical research. Ultimately, the clues to the mysteries of biological processes will lye within the proteins present at a given time. Proteomics, the characterization of complex protein mixtures, builds on a wide range of expertise from protein chemistry to mass spectrometry and bioinformatics. Each step from sample preparation, high resolution protein separation to protein identification is underpinned by the latest technological developments in protein separation and mass spectrometry and supported by powerful computational image and data analysis algorithms which requires large scale data management and storage facilities. The success of proteomics depends on further developments in technology which need a wide range of scientific expertise. This meeting, the first BSPR London Regional Meeting, brought together scientists from a broad background who share a common interest in novel solutions for the characterization of complex protein mixtures.