Professor Stuart Cordwell

Stuart has been involved in proteomics research throughout his career. He was an author on the manuscript that defined the term ‘proteome’ and established the first laboratory-based undergraduate Proteomics course in Australia.

He has been awarded the Selby Research Award for work on bacterial membrane proteins and a Villum Kann Rasmussen VELUX Professorship for his work on post-translational modification of proteins, and was the President of the Australasian Proteomics Society (2016-2020).

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Dr Ben Crossett, Associte Director

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Ben began his scientific career at the University of Manchester, gaining a BSc(Hons) in Biochemistry, followed by a PhD at the University of Cambridge. It was while he was a post-doctoral researcher at Imperial College London that he developed his interested in proteomics, applying the methods to investigate novel anti-microbial and vaccine targets in Burkholderia pseudomallei. In 2004, he moved to Sydney to manage Sydney Mass Spectrometry.

As the Associate Director of Sydney Mass Spec he utilises proteomic and metabolomic techniques to study biological systems from species ranging from alpacas to zooxanthellae.

Dr Atul Bhatnager,  Senior Technical Officer

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Atul has over 8 years of experience in the field of life sciences mass spectrometry with a focus on metabolomics and small molecule absolute quantification. He obtained his PhD from Macquarie University in therapeutic drug quantification studies in cancer patients. Prior to joining SydneyMS, Atul has worked in various pharmaceutical industries and most recently was a senior scientist at APAF. His role there involved developing and validating LC-MS methods, managing commercial and research projects, instrument maintenance and imparting training to students and researchers.

Atul has extensive instrument experience for LC-MS (Orbitrap, QqQ) and UHPLC. He has a strong background in method development and validation in the areas of small molecules, metabolomics and therapeutic drug quantification. His expertise lies with validating bioanalytical methods for pharmacokinetic studies as per the regulatory guidelines (US-FDA, EMA, etc.). Atul is responsible for providing technical and analytical support to researchers using our facility especially in the areas of targeted and untargeted metabolomics, lipidomics and xenobiotic molecules. 

Angela Connolly, Senior Technical Officer

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Angela has over 20 years’ experience working in the field of proteomics. Before joining Sydney University, Angela worked for several years at the Australian Proteomics Analysis Facility (APAF) as a Senior Mass Spectrometry Analyst, conducting projects for collaborating researchers, commercial customers and internal research groups.

Angela has extensive experience in operating mass spectrometers and HPLC systems. Additionally, she is skilled in data analysis for TMT analysis, shotgun proteomics, PMF and PTM analysis. She is responsible for much of the contract research conducted at Sydney Mass Spec as well as providing technical support to researchers accessing proteomic workflows at Sydney Mass Spec to ensure effective and efficient collaborative outcomes.

Dr David Fuentes, Senior Technical Officer

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David has 20 years’ experience in mass spectrometry and analytical chemistry. He completed a PhD in soil remediation of metals and has worked in various research institutes as an analytical chemist and mass spectrometry. He gained experience in analytical method development using GC-MS and LC-MS at the National Measurement Institute.  He joined CSIRO as a Geochemist and laboratory manager using High resolution GC-MS for the analysis of oil biomarkers.  During the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, he was called to set up a GC-MS laboratory on board a ship to carry out oil analysis in contaminated surface water. In 2015 he joined the University of Sydney where he managed a metabolomics lab at the Camden campus and developed methods for the analysis of plant metabolites for agricultural applications.

David has extensive instrument experience for LC-MS and other systems and is on hand to share is knowledge in sample collection, method development and validation, data analysis and interpretation. He is responsible of providing technical support to researchers using our facility, especially in the areas of metabolomics and lipidomics.

Dr Michael Gotsbacher, Senior Technical Officer

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Michael Gotsbacher received his Masters degree in Pharmacy from the University of Vienna and a PhD in Chemical Biology from Macquarie University. His expertise lies in the analysis of biomolecules, including small molecules, peptides and metal-chelators by virtue of diverse analytical and spectrometric techniques, such as mass spectrometry and NMR. 

His research traverses the interface of chemistry and medicine, investigating molecular mechanisms of bioactive small molecules. He has published in top-tier journals in the field of chemical biology and medicinal chemistry, with his three most recent first-author publications being featured on the front cover of the respective journal. Michael was awarded the Archibald D. Olle Award 2020 by the Royal Australian Chemical Institute for best paper in 2019. 

His wealth of laboratory experience, analytical rigor and technical know-how is an asset for Sydney Mass Spec.  Michael has a duel appointment as a Research Fellow in the School of Medical Sciences and as Senior Technical Officer at Sydney Mass Spec. 

Dr Denise Tran, Senior Technical Officer

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Denise has been an advocate for mass spectrometry (MS) and proteomics since her undergraduate days at the University of Adelaide where she majored in Chemistry and Pharmacology.  She stayed on at the University of Adelaide and completed her PhD in the Pukala lab, characterising a molecular chaperonin using MS and complementary techniques. In 2018, she joined the Loo lab at UCLA and identified binding pockets of spermatogenesis proteins, naked mole rat apolipoproteins, and developed native MS techniques for lipid associated proteins. Following that position, Denise joined the Kelleher lab at Northwestern University in 2020 and helped develop native immunoprecipitation workflows for Amyloid beta oligomers and helped push the forefront of top-down MS analysis software before joining the team here at SydneyMS.

She will continue pushing the boundaries of mass spectrometry and enabling the scientific community to excel, especially in the areas of proteomics and MS based protein characterisation.

Jacquie Kufner, Senior Administration Officer

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Skilled in navigating the University's bureaucracy, Jacquie provides invaluable administrative support to Sydney Mass Spec and will guide users through the on-boarding process and handle any billing inquires.