Professor Helen Cooper FRSC

Winner: 2022 Analytical Division open Award: Theophilus Redwood Award

University of Birmingham

For the development of native ambient mass spectrometry as an analytical technique to enable direct analysis and imaging of intact proteins and protein assemblies from tissue.

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It was all the colours involved that first generated my interest in chemistry. By the time I went on to learn about the spectroscopy of flames, I was hooked.

Proteins are the workhorses of the cell, performing all the functions necessary for life. They are large molecules associated with a vast array of chemical modifications, and which form loosely-bound complexes with themselves, other proteins and other types of molecules. It is not only their chemical structure but also their overall 3D structure which dictates their function. To truly understand the various and specific roles of proteins in life processes, we need to be able to analyse protein structure at the molecular level directly from the physiological environment, e.g. in tissue. Professor Cooper and her team are developing new tools and approaches, collectively termed native ambient mass spectrometry, to address that challenge. In developing these tools, they are providing new routes to understand disease processes and aid drug discovery.

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Helen J Cooper FRSC is Professor of Mass Spectrometry and EPSRC Established Career Fellow in the school of biosciences at the University of Birmingham. She obtained her BSc and PhD in chemistry at the University of Warwick before becoming Experimental Officer in Fourier transform mass spectrometry. She moved to the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University in 2000, where she continued her research in Fourier transform mass spectrometry. She returned to the UK in 2003 to establish an independent career at the University of Birmingham. She was awarded a Wellcome Trust University Technology Fellowship in 2004 and an EPSRC Established Career Fellowship in 2014.

Helen’s research focuses on in situ analysis of proteins by mass spectrometry. She has published over 140 papers in peer-reviewed journals and contributed invited reviews to Trends in Analytical Chemistry and Mass Spectrometry Reviews. She has attracted funding from UKRI, charities and industry. Her industrial partners include global leaders in pharma and analytical instrumentation. She is a Director and Trustee of the Rosalind Franklin Institute, and sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry and Analysis & Sensing. She was Trustee and elected committee member of the British Mass Spectrometry Society (2007–2015), and Chair of the Management Advisory Panel for the EPSRC National Mass Spectrometry Facility (to 2018).

Q+A

How did you first become interested in chemistry?

It was all the colours involved that first generated my interest in chemistry. By the time I went on to learn about the spectroscopy of flames, I was hooked.

Who or what has inspired you?

The enthusiasm of my teachers and mentors, especially Professor Alan Marshall who gave me the opportunity to work in a world-leading laboratory in the USA and always encouraged me to follow my ideas.

What motivates you?

Curiosity. It’s very rewarding to see something for the first time ever, or have a hypothesis confirmed.

What has been a highlight for you (either personally or in your career)?

There have been two highlights in my career: working at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Florida for three years, and my EPSRC Fellowship. The former gave me the opportunity to live and work overseas. The latter allowed me to embark on research on in situ analysis of proteins and, ultimately, native ambient mass spectrometry.

What has been a challenge for you (either personally or in your career)?

Academic research can be brutal, with grant rejections and critical reviewers. You have to develop a thick skin, believe in your science and keep going.

Why do you think teamwork is important in science?

Science doesn’t happen in isolation. A team with different strengths and expertise is more likely to achieve the major advances.

What is your favourite element?

I’m not sure I have a favourite element, but I definitely have a favourite molecular class – proteins, without a doubt.