Richard R. Drake, Ph.D.

Professor
Department: Cell and Molecular Pharmacology
Programs: Inflammation, Fibrosis
Proteomics Core

 

 

Research Interests:

Dr. Drake earned his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Kentucky in 1990. Over the course of his career, first as a faculty member at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, then the Eastern Virginia Medical School, and finally for the past seven years at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Dr. Drake has published over 150 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, developed 4 patents, and edited 2 books. He has been Director of the MUSC Proteomics Center since 2011, and in close collaboration with Dr. Ball will serve as Director of the DDRCC Proteomics Core. The Core will provide highly specialized expertise and advanced instrumentation for the application of imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) technologies to gastrointestinal and liver research questions (includes both experimental and clinical projects).

Since 2002, Dr. Drake has developed multiple MS-based approaches for profiling clinical biofluids and tissues, and specializes in the analysis of glycans and glycoprotein biomarkers. In the past five years, his laboratory has developed a robust and highly novel IMS approach for the analysis of N-linked glycans in tissues. This method is of great utility as it can be used with any FFPE (formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded) or frozen tissue, ranging from clinical samples to tissues harvested from genetically engineered animal models. His glycan IMS approach continues to generate high-content N-glycome maps which provide detailed information on potential marker functions and localization in tissues. This in turn is facilitating further IMS method development for other types of glycan targets, such as O-glycans and heparin/chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycans, as well as glycoprotein post-translational modifications (PTMs).

Publications:

PubMed Collection