Perdita Elizabeth Barran is a Professor of Mass Spectrometry at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

. She is Director of the Michael Barber Centre for Collaborative Mass Spectrometry. She develops and applies ion-mobility spectrometry–mass spectrometry to the study of molecule structure and is searching for

biomarker In biomedical contexts, a biomarker, or biological marker, is a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition. Biomarkers are often measured and evaluated using blood, urine, or soft tissues to examine normal biological processes, ...

s for

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

. She is Associate Dean for Research Facility Development at the University of Manchester. In 2020 and 2021 she was seconded to work for the Department of Health and Social Care as an advisor on the use case for mass spectrometry as a diagnostic method for diagnosis of COVID infection.

Education and early career

Barran went to

Godolphin and Latymer School The Godolphin and Latymer School is a private day school for girls in Hammersmith, West London. The school motto is an ancient Cornish phrase, ''Francha Leale Toge'', which translates as "free and loyal art thou". The school crest includes a ...

. She moved to the

to study chemistry, graduating in 1994. She joined the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

for her graduate studies, working with

Harry Kroto Sir Harold Walter Kroto (born Harold Walter Krotoschiner; 7 October 1939 – 30 April 2016) was an English chemist. He shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Robert Curl and Richard Smalley for their discovery of fullerenes. He was t ...

and Tony Stace.

Research and career

Barran stayed with Stace for three years after completing her PhD in 1998. In 2001 Barran joined the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

, working as a

postdoctoral A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

with Mike Bowers. She was interested in the structure and stability of small molecules in the gas phase. She looked at how

Ion-mobility spectrometry Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) It is a method of conducting analytical research that separates and identifies ionized molecules present in the gas phase based on the mobility of the molecules in a carrier buffer gas. Even though it is used exte ...

could be used to identify conformation. Barran joined the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

as an

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is a British UK Research Councils, Research Council that provides government funding for grants to undertake research and postgraduate degrees in engineering and the physical scienc ...

(EPSRC) Advanced

Research Fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

in 2002. In 2005 she was awarded the 10th Desty Memorial prize for her innovations in Separation Science. She was made a Senior Lecturer in 2009. She worked on mass spectrometry techniques that can be used to evaluate conformational change, aggregation and intrinsic conformation. She investigated

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 ...

for therapeutics for pre-fibrillar aggregation. She helped to establish the Scottish Instrumentation and Resource Centre for Advanced Mass Spectrometry at the

. This had an initial remit to provide proteomic analysis for the

MRC Human Genetics Unit The Medical Research Council (UK) Human Genetics Unit is situated at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh. It is one of the largest MRC research establishments, housing over two hundred scientists, support staff, research fellows, PhD stude ...

. In 2013 Barran was appointed to the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology as a Chair in Mass Spectrometry sponsored by

Waters Corporation Waters Corporation is an American publicly traded analytical laboratory instrument and software company headquartered in Milford, Massachusetts. The company employs more than 7,800 people, with manufacturing facilities located in Milford, Taunto ...

. She led an EPSRC platform grant to study the structure-activity relationships of

Beta defensin Beta defensins are a family of vertebrate defensins. The beta defensins are antimicrobial peptides implicated in the resistance of epithelial surfaces to microbial colonization. Defensins are 2 to 6 kDa, cationic, microbicidal peptides active a ...

s. She works with Cait MacPhee, Garth Cooper and Tilo Kunath on

neurodegenerative A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Neuronal damage may also ultimately result in their death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, mul ...

proteins, and with several groups including Richard Kriwacki, Rohit Pappu and Gary Daughdrill to examine

intrinsically disordered proteins In molecular biology, an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) is a protein that lacks a fixed or ordered protein tertiary structure, three-dimensional structure, typically in the absence of its macromolecular interaction partners, such as other ...

. She works with several biopharmaceutical companies to apply new mass spectrometry techniques to new drug modalities including

monoclonal antibodies A monoclonal antibody (mAb, more rarely called moAb) is an antibody produced from a Lineage (evolution), cell lineage made by cloning a unique white blood cell. All subsequent antibodies derived this way trace back to a unique parent cell. Mon ...

. She also develops new mass spectrometry instrumentation. Her group looks at the structure of biological systems at a molecular level, studying them in the gas and solution phase as well as theoretically. They use

electrospray ionization Electrospray ionization (ESI) is a technique used in mass spectrometry to produce ions using an electrospray in which a high voltage is applied to a liquid to create an aerosol. It is especially useful in producing ions from macromolecules becau ...

, ion mobility mass spectrometry native mass spectrometry and complementary solution based biophysical techniques. They are interested in a proteins structure and how it changes in an effort to relate that to their function. Ion-mobility spectrometry–mass spectrometry can be used to look at the temperature dependent rotationally averaged collision cross-section of gas-phase ions of proteins. In 2014 she was awarded a

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, is a non-departmental public body (NDPB), and is the largest UK public funder of non-medical bioscience. It predominantly funds science, scient ...

grant to study the interactions of proteins with other proteins. Barran serves on the editorial board of the ''

International Journal of Mass Spectrometry The ''International Journal of Mass Spectrometry'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of mass spectrometry, including instrumentation and applications in biology, chemistry, geology, and physics. It was established i ...

''. She was included in the ''page of Perditas'' created by Perdita Stevens.

Parkinson's disease

Barran has been working with Joy Milne to search for odorous biomarkers of Parkinson's disease. By smelling skin swabs, Milne says she can differentiate between people with and without Parkinson's disease. She says she identified changes in her husband's scent before he was formally diagnosed with

, which he died of in 2015. Barran uses mass spectrometry to investigate the biomarkers of

. The story was made into a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

documentary ''The Woman Who Can Smell Parkinson's''. Barran received ethical approval for her work of the skin metabolites of Parkinson's in 2015, allowing them to work with

Parkinson's UK Parkinson's UK is a Parkinson's research and support charity in the United Kingdom. In April 2010, the Parkinson's Disease Society changed its name to become Parkinson's UK. Its aims are to improve the quality of life for people affected by Park ...

to conduct a larger study. In 2018 Milne travelled to the Tanzanian training centre APOPO to check whether she could smell

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. Barran's work on Parkinson's is sponsored by The Michael J. Fox Foundation. In 2022, Barran and others published a study of a method to detect Parkinson's disease by analysing

sebum A sebaceous gland or oil gland is a microscopic exocrine gland in the skin that opens into a hair follicle to secrete an oily or waxy matter, called sebum, which lubricates the hair and skin of mammals. In humans, sebaceous glands occur ...

using mass spectrometry.

Awards

Barran was awarded the 2009 Joseph Black award, and the 2020 Theophillus Redwood Award from the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the ...

Analytical Division. Along with a team of researchers 'NosetoDiagnose' she won the Horizon Prize from the

2021. She is ranked #3 in the "Human Health Heroes" field on the 2024 Analytical Scientist Power List.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barran, Perdita Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of the University of Manchester Academics of the University of Manchester Academics of the University of Edinburgh University of California, Santa Barbara faculty People educated at Godolphin and Latymer School Women chemists Mass spectrometrists 21st-century women scientists