Jun Qu recognized for sustained achievements in proteomics

The award honors outstanding professional achievement that has been focused on a particular body of work over a number of years.

“Dr. Qu is a highly valued member of our faculty who has made significant cross-disciplinary contributions to both technology and biomedical research through his novel collaborative approaches in the field of proteomics,” says James M. O’Donnell, PhD, dean.

“His ability to advance collective research and help elevate the work of multiple principal investigators across all three University at Buffalo campuses is exceptional, and allows the university’s research strength to be noticed among a variety of scientific audiences.”

Qu has defined methodologies and advanced scientific knowledge that will change the way cancer, infection and heart disease are diagnosed and treated. His research focuses on protein and drug analysis using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC/MS) to discover new knowledge and develop novel research techniques that are applied throughout the field of clinical and pharmaceutical proteomics. His lab is one of the top labs in the world on label-free proteomics for large-scale analysis; he is also a world leader in the field of characterization of antibody therapeutics using LC/MS.

Most significant is the launch of the cutting-edge protein analysis tool “IonStar,” the first ever proteomics quantification method that is capable of reproducible, high-quality measurement of a large number of proteins in large biological cohorts, crucial benchmarks for pharmaceutical and clinical investigations. To-date, IonStar analysis has been used in more than 70 large-scale proteomic investigations, leading to impressive advances in the treatment of chronic heart disease, traumatic brain injury and pathways for drug development in cancer treatment. These promising results were recently released in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

As either principal investigator or co-investigator, he has received a total of $4.7 million grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), private foundations and various pharmaceutical companies.

Qu boasts over 100 peer-reviewed original journal articles and is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, the American Heart Association, the International Society of Heart Research and the American Society of Mass Spectrometry.

He received a University at Buffalo Clinical and Translations Science Institute Pilot Studies Award in both 2014 and 2016. He was the recipient of the 2015 Outstanding Contribution Award for Medicinal Analysis by the Chinese Society of Pharmaceutical Analysis, in recognition of his contribution to the development and application of novel LC/MS-based methods for characterization of biologics and protein markers. He was also a recipient of the 2015 Thermo Fisher Scientific Tandem Mass Tag Research Award for his innovation and potential impact in the field of proteomics.

After earning a PhD in analytical chemistry from China’s prestigious Tsinghua University, Qu decided to pursue an academic career in biomedical research. He joined the SPPS faculty as a Research Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2004.

Qu also currently serves in adjunct positions in ophthamology and biochemistry at the University at Buffalo and Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

Qu will receive the Exceptional Scholar Award for Sustained Achievement this fall at the 16th annual University at Buffalo Celebration of Faculty and Staff Excellence.