Today's Award Lecture: Joshua J. Coon

Joshua J. Coon, associate professor of chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the 2012 recipient of the Biemann Medal, awarded by ASMS. The Meal honors a significant achievement in basic or applied mass spectrometry made by an individual early in his or her career.

Coon has been a critical participant in the development of electron transfer dissociation (ETD), a fragmentation technique that has become an essential method for protein sequencing because it allows for dissociation, and consequently, the sequence and analysis of, large peptide cations, peptide cations bearing large posttranslational modifications, and even intact proteins. Coon was instrumental in demonstrating the greatly enhanced capabilities of ETD when coupled with an orbital trap mass spectrometer in large-scale proteomics applications, and in developing related MS techniques, such as supplemental activation for ETD and real-time decision making to blend dissociation methods. In a seminal study, Coon and his team discovered that the fundamental difference between radicals and even-electron species stretches into the molecular mass domain, and that these species can always be separated, given sufficient mass accuracy.

Hear Professor Coon’s award plenary talk today at 4:45 pm in Exhibit Hall A, on the exhibit level.