Professor John R. Yates III of The Scripps Research Institute is the winner of the 2019 John B. Fenn Award For A Distinguished Contribution in Mass Spectrometry. Professor Yates is the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Proteome Research. The award, given by the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS), honors the memory of John B. Fenn, […]

Professor John R. Yates III of The Scripps Research Institute is the winner of the 2019 John B. Fenn Award For A Distinguished Contribution in Mass Spectrometry. Professor Yates is the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Proteome Research.

The award, given by the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS), honors the memory of John B. Fenn, who shared the 2002 Nobel Prize for the development of electrospray ionization. The award is conferred at the ASMS Annual Conference with the presentation of a $10,000 cash award, a recognition plaque, and the award lecture.

Professor Yates is being recognized for the development of automated, large-scale interpretation of peptide tandem mass spectral data. Professor Yates’ SEQUEST algorithm laid a critical foundation for the field of proteomics and has enhanced the accuracy and effectiveness of mass spectrometry to understand important biological and clinical questions.

Subsequent software developments continue to empower molecular and cellular biology research, including peptide and protein quantitation, Identification of posttranslational modifications, and the use of DNA sequences to enable proteogenomic methods. Professor Yates’s work also allowed large scale studies to identify the components of protein complexes in single-celled organisms and mammalian cells. Proteomics is now practiced by thousands of researchers all over the world to study proteins in almost every organelle in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. The comprehensive analysis of cells and tissues is now routinely used to understand differences between normal and disease states.

If you can’t attend the award lecture, you can still learn more about Professor John R. Yates III and Journal of Proteome Research. Follow the journal on Twitter to stay informed of other journal-related news.

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