Who We Are

After training in high performance mass spectrometry and enzymology of post-translational modifications (PTMs), my independent laboratory over the last 15 years has evolved into three main sub-groups working in the areas of Top Down Proteomics, Natural Products Biosynthesis/Discovery, and Chromatin Biology. The core of the group is built around expertise in technology development for complex mixture analysis using Fourier-Transform mass spectrometry (FTMS) for targeted applications in proteomics and natural products chemistry. My group has a track record of training and mentoring at the intersection of mass spectrometric technology and cell/chemical biology. In technology, we established protein separations, new mass spectrometric hardware, and provided software used by >1000 labs worldwide to harness the value of complex FTMS data with high mass accuracy. Further themes of the Kelleher laboratory include using intact proteins for efficient detection of their post-translational modifications, with specific interests in Gain-of-Function mutants of histone methyltransferases in cancers of the blood. We also seek new molecules from soil bacteria and use MS-based proteomic (PrISM) and genome-enabled metabolomics to find new anti-proliferative molecules from soil bacteria (actinomycetes in particular). We invent powerful new methods to understand how human cells work at the molecular level, and also work in targeted mode on specific proteins (e.g., histones) and biosynthetic systems. Basic metrics to date include: >53 H-factor, >250 publications, 35 Ph.D. students and ~70 postdoctoral trainees.