The Petelski Lab aims to leverage mass spectrometry proteomics towards revealing insights that can help build better biomaterials and therapeutics. 

The increasing scale of complexity. The human body is made of different organs all performing different functions that depend on each other - the heart pumps blood while the lungs enable us to breathe. We know that within a single organ, such as the lungs, there are more than 10 billion cells - these cells work in harmony, but can differ significantly in their functions. The complexity of cellular heterogeneity is further complicated by the fact that a single cell contains more than 20,000 proteins that also perform different functions. Thus, profiling just a dozen or so proteins may not be enough to determine the state of the cell, tissue, or organ. 

Understanding functional heterogeneity. To discern differences on the proteomics level, mass spectrometry is a powerful tool that has enabled the sensitive and accurate quantitation of 1000s of proteins in human tissues. Our lab is driven to unravel molecular processes that drive cellular differences in tissue regeneration and repair through the use of proteomics. By revealing potential therapeutic targets, we can link proteomics information to the design of existing and novel biomaterials.