May 2025
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Biosciences
Equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, advanced equipment capabilities and staffed with experienced personnel, ASU Core Research Facilities offers a variety of services to advance research dedicated to human health.
In this May newsletter, we are excited to spotlight four of our Biosciences Core Facilities— the Ultrafast Laser Facility, Mass Spectrometry Facility, Genomics Facility and Bioinformatics Facility. This feature highlights how these facilities are driving innovation and advancing scientific discovery at ASU and beyond. From cutting-edge instrumentation to expert support, our Biosciences Core Facilities empower researchers across disciplines to achieve breakthrough results.
Ultrafast Laser (UFL) Facility
The UFL supports chemical, biological and materials research through advanced time-resolved laser spectroscopy.
Equipped with femtosecond Ti:Sapphire lasers, transient absorption and fluorescence spectrometers and single-molecule microscopy tools, the facility enables real-time observation of photophysical and photochemical processes with femtosecond temporal resolution and single-molecule sensitivity.
Publication: Ultrafast spectroscopy and molecular dynamics reveals relaxation processes in cellular membranes
Authors: Ranel Maqdisi. Jacob Layton, Melih Sener, Abhishek Singharoy, Yoval Mazor
The UFL team supports this research using a femtosecond laser and a streak camera —specialized equipment available through the Biosciences facility. The streak camera’s ability to capture fluorescence with picosecond resolution was essential for revealing the ultrafast energy transfer dynamics in the PSI-IsiA supercomplex.
This research explores how the PSI-IsiA supercomplex behaves under natural conditions by combining Cryo-EM data with all-atom Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. While Cryo-EM provides static structures at cryogenic temperatures, MD reveals how the complex rearranges at room temperature in a membrane-like environment.
UFL Femtosecond Transient Spectrometer
View video on the broadband pump-pulse spectrometer on YouTube.
View video on transient absorption spectroscopy on YouTube.
Learn more about UFL capabilities and equipment.
Mass Spectrometry Facility
The Mass Spectrometry Facility at ASU’s Biodesign Institute provides advanced mass spectrometry services for researchers both within ASU and from external organizations. The facility supports the analysis of proteins, peptides and small molecules across diverse fields including environmental, clinical, pharmaceutical, chemical and biological research.
Researchers may either use walk-up instrumentation or submit samples to Core staff for analysis. Standard protocols or customized workflows can be developed based on project needs. The Core also provides detailed data analysis, interpretation and publication-ready figures upon request. Researchers are encouraged to consult with facility staff to design the most effective workflow for their projects.
Uncovering how Wolbachia infection alters host brain proteins and behavior to enhance mating success, offering insights into parasite-driven behavioral manipulation
Timothy Karr played a critical role in this project by leading the proteomic analysis of Drosophila brains. His expertise enabled the identification of hundreds of host and Wolbachia proteins, uncovering molecular clues behind the behavioral changes caused by infection.
Publication: Wolbachia-mediated reduction in the glutamate receptor mGluR promotes female promiscuity and bacterial spread
Authors: Brandi Warecki, Giovanni Vega, Sommer Fowler, Grant Harzong, Timofhy L. Karr, William Sullivan
Abstract
The mechanisms by which parasites influence host behavior are not well understood. This study shows that Wolbachia infection in Drosophila melanogaster increases female receptivity to mating by targeting brain regions involved in sensory processing. Proteomic analysis identified 177 host proteins with altered abundance and over 700 Wolbachia-produced proteins in infected brains. Changes in three key host proteins—mGluR, TfAP-2 and Obp99b—replicate the behavioral effects of infection.
Discover how Wolbachia rewires host behavior through brain-targeted protein changes.
New equipment and software installed
Last month, the Mass Spectrometry facility was delighted for a major upgrade to our Orbitrap Fusion Lumos mass spectrometer with the addition of a Neo Vanquish HPLC system.
Proteome discoverer upgrade
We have also installed a major upgrade to our proteomics software analysis program, Proteome Discoverer (v2.5 upgraded to v3.2).The upgrade, in addition to increasing overall speed, includes Chimerys, a new search algorithm capable of identifying more peptides and proteins in standard high-resolution mass spectrometer data files.
Customizable data analysis workflows
This approach uses artificial intelligence to disentangle complex mass spectra that contain more than one (or more) signals from different peptide fragments. The increase in identifiable mass spectra results in an increased depth of proteome coverage that in turn increases knowledge of the biological systems under study.
Learn more about mass spectrometry capabilities and equipment.
Genomics Facility
The ASU Genomics Facility is a sequencing facility offering scientists and researchers within ASU and worldwide the opportunity to perform a full range of genomic applications, such as Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS), RNA sequencing (including options for poly(A) selection, ribosomal depletion and degraded/FFPE RNA), library preparation of ChIP samples, de novo sequencing, metagenomics sequencing, single-cell sequencing and traditional Sanger sequencing.
Learn more about the Genomics Facility capabilities and equipment.
Bioinformatics Facility
Advances in high-throughput technologies like NextGen Sequencing are driving a new era of genome-wide biomedical research at ASU. To support this transformation, the ASU Knowledge Enterprise and the ASU Biodesign Institute launched the Bioinformatics Facility in 2015. It offers data-analysis services, research collaborations and targeted training while coordinating with other ASU Core Research Facilities to enhance user experience.
The facility provides efficient bioinformatics solutions through centralized computing and expert support, helping researchers manage complex omics data and strengthen their scientific impact through cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Learn more about the Bioinformatics Facility capabilities and equipment.
Researchers investigating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are one step closer to understanding the complex microbial and molecular interactions involved in the condition. As part of this effort, the Genomics Core processed samples for 16S rRNA gene sequencing, whole genome metagenomics and whole transcriptome metatranscriptomics.
Kristina Buss from Bioinformatics Core has contributed by analyzing the resulting sequencing data and participating in manuscript development and Todd Sandrin presented this work at the 2025 Crohn’s and Colitis Congress in January.
Explore how ASU researchers are uncovering IBD's microbial secrets.
Interested in seeing new capital equipment brought to the Core Facilities? Fill out the form to request equipment.