• Focus Areas
    • Cause Selection
    • Global Health & Wellbeing
      • Effective Altruism Community Growth (Global Health and Wellbeing)
      • Farm Animal Welfare
      • Global Aid Policy
      • Global Health & Development
      • Scientific Research
      • South Asian Air Quality
    • Longtermism
      • Biosecurity & Pandemic Preparedness
      • Effective Altruism Community Growth (Longtermism)
      • Potential Risks from Advanced AI
    • Other Areas
      • Criminal Justice Reform
      • History of Philanthropy
      • Immigration Policy
      • Land Use Reform
      • Macroeconomic Stabilization Policy
  • Grants
  • Research & Updates
    • Research Reports
    • Blog Posts
    • Notable Lessons
    • In the News
  • About Us
    • Grantmaking Process
    • How to Apply for Funding
    • Team
    • Contact Us
    • Stay Updated
  • We’re hiring!
  • Focus Areas
    • Cause Selection
    • Global Health & Wellbeing
      • Effective Altruism Community Growth (Global Health and Wellbeing)
      • Farm Animal Welfare
      • Global Aid Policy
      • Global Health & Development
      • Scientific Research
      • South Asian Air Quality
    • Longtermism
      • Biosecurity & Pandemic Preparedness
      • Effective Altruism Community Growth (Longtermism)
      • Potential Risks from Advanced AI
    • Other Areas
      • Criminal Justice Reform
      • History of Philanthropy
      • Immigration Policy
      • Land Use Reform
      • Macroeconomic Stabilization Policy
  • Grants
  • Research & Updates
    • Research Reports
    • Blog Posts
    • Notable Lessons
    • In the News
  • About Us
    • Grantmaking Process
    • How to Apply for Funding
    • Team
    • Contact Us
    • Stay Updated
  • We’re hiring!

University of Notre Dame — Nanopore Protein Sequencing (Gregory Timp)

Visit Grantee Site
  • Portfolio Area: Scientific Innovation: Tools and Techniques
  • Focus Area: Scientific Research
  • Organization Name: University of Notre Dame
  • Amount: $2,054,142

  • Award Date: June 2017

Table of Contents

    The Stinson-Remick clean room at the University of Notre Dame. (Photo copyright: University of Notre Dame, credit: Matt Cashore)

    Grant investigator: Heather Youngs

    This page was reviewed but not written by the grant investigator. University of Notre Dame staff also reviewed this page prior to publication.

    The Open Philanthropy Project recommended a grant of $2,054,142 over three years to the University of Notre Dame to support the development of an instrument that uses a sub-nanometer-diameter pore (i.e. a sub-nanopore) to read the amino acid sequence of whole protein molecules. The collaborative effort led by Dr. Gregory Timp involves researchers at the University of San Diego and Johns Hopkins University.

    Currently, proteomics relies mainly on mass spectrometry (MS) to analyze the structure of proteins. However, MS does not inform on the complete sequence; it lacks sensitivity (it requires about 1 billion molecules); and it is accomplished using an expensive, room-sized apparatus. In contrast, a sub-nanopore, which is about the size of an amino acid residue, reads the primary structure of a single whole protein molecule, although imperfectly, and is embedded in a microfluidic device about the size of a flash-drive.

    If it proves out, we believe this tool could facilitate a wide range of basic biological research and ultimately allow for rapid detection of pathogens, thereby improving the diagnosis and treatment of disease as well as potentially improving our ability to respond to pandemic threats. While the initial applications of this tool are expected in research settings, we believe it is possible that it could eventually be commercialized and lead to inexpensive methods for protein identification and sequencing in clinical settings.

    Using our funding, Dr. Timp and his collaborators will experiment with new sub-nanopore topographies, membrane materials and electrolyte conditions to improve the read fidelity and translocation kinetics, as well as explore new algorithms to discriminate between proteins and identify all twenty proteogenic amino acids and their post-translational modifications.

    This grant falls within our work on scientific research, and was identified through our 2016 NIH Transformative Research Award RFP.

    Related Items

    • Scientific Innovation: Tools and Techniques

      University of Notre Dame — Nanopore Protein Sequencing (Gregory Timp) (2021)

      Open Philanthropy recommended a grant of $1,769,056 over two years to the University of Notre Dame to continue support for Dr. Gregory Timp’s work developing an instrument that...

      Read more
    • Scientific Innovation: Tools and Techniques

      Purdue University — Preclinical Data Research (Douglas Brubaker)

      Open Philanthropy recommended a grant of $1,500,000 over five years to Purdue University to support research led by Dr. Douglas Brubaker on developing a computational model to translate...

      Read more
    • Scientific Innovation: Tools and Techniques

      University of California, Los Angeles — Social Science Genetic Association Consortium (2020)

      Open Philanthropy recommended a grant of $2,250,000 to the University of California, Los Angeles, to support the Social Science Genetic Association Consortium (SSGAC). Our understanding is that SSGAC...

      Read more
    Back to Grants Database
    Open Philanthropy
    Open Philanthropy
    • Careers
    • Press Kit
    • Governance
    • Privacy Policy
    • Stay Updated
    Mailing Address
    Open Philanthropy
    182 Howard Street #225
    San Francisco, CA 94105
    Email
    [email protected]
    Media Inquiries
    [email protected]
    Anonymous Feedback
    Feedback Form

    © Open Philanthropy 2022 Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International License. If you'd like to translate this content into another language, please get in touch!