Brett Hamilton

My PhD, conferred in 2003 by the University of Queensland (UQ), was undertaken under the guidance of Prof. Richard Lewis (IMB), A/Prof. Barry Chiswell (UQ, Chemistry), and Prof. Michael Moore (UQ, ENTOX), on the topic of Ciguatoxins, which are extremely potent site 5 sodium channel activators present in ciguatoxic fish. Their isolation and identification represented a challenging and rewarding PhD. The most innovative aspect of my research was the development of an approach involving radiolabelled receptor binding assays and LC-MS analyses that resulted in the discovery of a new family of ciguatoxins in the Indian ocean.

In 2002, I worked for Dr Kevin James at Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) as a full-time researcher, with responsibility for the maintenance, and training of personnel to use triple quadrupole and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometers. I was also responsible for delivery of an instrumentational analytical chemistry course to undergraduate chemistry students. Whilst at this post I was involved in projects that investigated the fragmentation pathways of a myriad of phycotoxins, mycotoxins, and cyanobacterial toxins using mass spectrometry. These studies resulted in a number of publications in leading discipline journals including the Journal of Mass Spectrometry and Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry. The results of these structural studies were then applied to develop sensitive and specific quantitative assays for the routine detection of these compounds resulting in publications in Analytical Chemistry. Many of the assays developed translated to have significant impact on the Irish economy, through their adoption in establishing when it was safe to harvest and sell mussels. Dr James provided an encouraging environment to post-doctoral employees, and whilst there I wrote and submitted a number of successful research grant applications, and a received an Irish Post-Doctoral Fellowship.

In 2006 I moved back to Australia to work for Prof. Jeffrey Gorman at Queensland Institute for Medical Research (QIMR). I was principally recruited to establish a suite of electrospray mass spectrometers within Prof. Gorman’s new laboratory and facilitate proteomic analysis on these systems. At QIMR, Prof Gorman acquired the first LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometer in the country, along with the first ion trap equipped fitted with electron-transfer dissociation capabilities.

In 2008, I was recruited by Prof. Deon Venter to the Mater Hospital (in Brisbane), specifically to work for him as a part of the CRC for Biomarker Translation. The CRC project entailed establishing matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation (MALDI) imaging and proteomics to investigate various breast cancer classes, and ovarian cancer. In collaboration, with Prof. Glenn King, Dr Eivind Undheim and A/Prof. Bryan Fry (U. Queensland), I have been involved with developing protocols to allow MALDI imaging of spider and centipede venom glands. A great deal of effort was involved in producing a suitable fixation approach that preserved the tissue without cross linking the peptides and proteins. Many parts of this work have been published, and presented at numerous conferences. The current optimised protocols allow us to routinely produce MALDI imaging data from serial sections cut from processed spider and centipede samples.

In 2017, I was recruited by Prof. Roger Wepf (UQ, CMM), and Prof. Ian Brereton (UQ, CAI), to come to work at the University of Queensland. As a part of this recruitment the Imaging Mass Spectrometry facility was transferred from the Mater Hospital to CMM/CAI at the University of Queensland (St Lucia campus). The move from the Mater involved relocation of the capabilities from an individual research group into an environment where the facility could be accessed by a much wider user base in accordance with CMM and CAI operating principles. The Imaging Mass Spectrometry facility at UQ can be accessed on a 24 hr/7 day basis for all users who have been trained to use the equipment.