Pei Su, a postdoctoral fellow in Professor Neil Kelleher’s research group in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University, has been awarded a five-year Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The prestigious research grant supports outstanding postdoctoral fellows in their transition from mentored researcher to an independent tenure track or equivalent faculty position.

“I’m thrilled to receive this award and would really like to express gratitude to my supporting network through this process,” says Su. “Preparing this grant application drove me out of my bubble to develop a long-term research plan, reach out to my network, and answer the question of who I want to be in the future.”

Su’s K99 project will involve developing mass spectrometry-based spatial and single cell technologies that interrogate the various forms of proteins (proteoforms) found in the human kidney and its complex cell types. His proposed research is based on previous collaborations with Neil Kelleher, PhD, the Walter and Mary Elizabeth Glass Professor of Chemistry, Molecular Biosciences, and Medicine and Director of Chemistry of Life Processes Institute (CLP), and Dr. Satish Nadig, MD, PhD, Director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center in the Feinberg School of Medicine.

“The tissue-resident immune system plays pivotal roles in kidney diseases and the success of kidney organ transplantation,” says Su. “I hope to develop new technologies measuring immune-relevant kidney proteoforms in the context of spatial tissue organization and in single cells. This may provide new insights into future targeted therapeutic approaches for kidney diseases.”

Su earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at Fudan University in 2015. He received his PhD in Analytical Chemistry in 2020 from Purdue University under the supervision of Professor Julia Laskin. He joined the Kelleher Research Group in March 2021. His graduate research focused on instrumentation development for mass spectrometry and ion chemistry in the gas phase and at interfaces. During his postdoctoral training, he joined Kelleher’s instrumentation team to tackle challenges in spatial and single cell top-down proteomics using single molecule mass spectrometry technologies.

In addition to the K99 award, Su recently received the 2024 American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) Postdoc Career Development Award.

“CLP and the Kelleher Research Group value the spirit of academic training that nurtures diverse forms of postdoctoral career development,” says Su. “I really appreciate the breadth of research that I got to experience here, which helped me immensely to solidify the ideas for a future independent career.”

by Lisa La Vallee