Joshua Coon is a professor of

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and biomolecular chemistry and the inaugural holder of the Thomas and Margaret Pyle Chair at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, and an affiliate of the Morgridge Institute for Research. Coon develops scientific instruments to measure molecules in living systems. He focuses specifically on the use of

mass spectrometry Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a ''mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is used ...

to measure the molecular mass of biomolecules, and its application to

proteomics Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins. Proteins are vital macromolecules of all living organisms, with many functions such as the formation of structural fibers of muscle tissue, enzymatic digestion of food, or synthesis and replicatio ...

. Joshua Coon, along with John Syka, developed

electron-transfer dissociation Electron-transfer dissociation (ETD) is a method of Fragmentation (mass spectrometry), fragmenting multiply-charged gaseous macromolecules in a mass spectrometer between the stages of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Similar to electron-capture ...

(ETD) while working as a postdoctoral student in Donald Hunt's lab at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

Early life and education

Coon was born in

Mount Pleasant, Michigan Mount Pleasant is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is the county seat of Isabella County, which is part of Central Michigan. The population of Mount Pleasant was 21,688 as of the 2020 census. The city is surrounded by Union Char ...

. Coon earned his B.Sc. from

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

in 1988. He received his Ph.D. from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in 2002, where he worked with Willard Harrison.

Career

Coon was a postdoctoral student in Donald Hunt's lab at the

from 2002 to 2005. There Joshua Coon and John Syka developed

(ETD). In 2005, Coon joined the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. He became an associate professor in 2010, and a professor in 2012.

Research interests

Mass spectrometry Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a ''mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is used ...

Electron-transfer dissociation Electron-transfer dissociation (ETD) is a method of Fragmentation (mass spectrometry), fragmenting multiply-charged gaseous macromolecules in a mass spectrometer between the stages of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Similar to electron-capture ...

Proteomics Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins. Proteins are vital macromolecules of all living organisms, with many functions such as the formation of structural fibers of muscle tissue, enzymatic digestion of food, or synthesis and replicatio ...

Quantitative proteomics Quantitative proteomics is an analytical chemistry technique for determining the amount of proteins in a sample. The methods for protein identification are identical to those used in general (i.e. qualitative) proteomics, but include quantificatio ...

and

Isobaric labeling Isobaric labeling is a mass spectrometry strategy used in quantitative proteomics. Peptides or proteins are labeled with chemical groups that have nominally identical mass (isobaric), but vary in terms of distribution of heavy isotopes in their ...

Awards

* 2018, Discovery in Proteomic Sciences Award from the

Human Proteome Organization The Human Proteome Organization (HUPO) is an international consortium of national proteomics research associations, government researchers, academic institutions, and industry partners. The organization was launched in February 2001, and it promotes ...

(HUPO). * 2012, Biemann Medal, for work on electron-transfer dissociation (ETD) * 2010, Pittsburgh Conference Achievement Award * 2009, Ken Standing Award, University of Manitoba * 2008,

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

CAREER Award * 2007, American Society of Mass Spectrometry Research Award for “significant achievement in basic or applied mass spectrometry made by an individual early in his or her career” * 2007,

Beckman Young Investigators Award The Beckman Young Investigators Award was established by Mabel and Arnold Beckman in 1991, and is now administered by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. The Beckman Young Investigator (BYI) Program is intended to provide research support to ...

* 2007,

Eli Lilly and Company Eli Lilly and Company, Trade name, doing business as Lilly, is an American multinational Medication, pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 count ...

Young Investigator Award * 2006, One of "Tomorrow's PIs" chosen by ''Genome Technology'' magazine

External links

Joshua J. Coon
(University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Chemistry)

References

21st-century American chemists Mass spectrometrists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-academic-scientist-stub