Terry W. Pearson 

 

Biography

 

Dr. Terry W. Pearson, Ph.D. is Senior Scientific Advisor to the Plasma Proteome Institute, Washington, DC (www.plasmaproteome.org). The Institute aims to foster a comprehensive exploration of the proteins of human blood plasma (the plasma proteome) and the rapid application of novel protein measurements in clinical diagnostics. Dr. Pearson is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology at the University of Victoria where he is involved in research on tropical diseases and the use of monoclonal antibodies and mass spectrometry for protein detection in a variety of applications. 

Dr. Pearson received his B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in microbiology and immunology from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. After postdoctoral work in tumour immunology at the Medical Research Council Laboratory in Cambridge, England, in the laboratory of Dr. Sydney Brenner, Dr. Pearson worked as a staff scientist in its Division of Cell Biology. While in Cambridge he was involved in the early stages of the development of monoclonal antibody technology with Georges Kohler and Cesar Milstein. He was a staff scientist at the International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases in Nairobi, Kenya where he introduced monoclonal antibodies to Africa. Since then his research has focused on the biochemical and immunological analysis of tropical protozoan parasites, mainly trypanosomes, the causative agents of African sleeping sickness. Currently his research team uses protein microchemical techniques and mass spectrometry as tools for identification of molecular interactions between infectious agents and insect vectors. His research also focuses on development of quantitative mass spectrometric methods for application to clinical diagnostics, an approach that involves development of antibody probes for proteins in deep proteomes such as human plasma. Dr. Pearson is currently a Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Genemax, a public company involved with vaccines for cancer and infectious diseases.  He served as a Trustee of the Terry Fox Medical Research Foundation and as a Director of the Science Council of British Columbia. 

 

Dr. Pearson has published more than 150 scientific articles, many involving monoclonal antibodies and their use in protein identification and characterization. 

 

1. Köhler, G., T. Pearson and C. Milstein, 1977.  Fusion of T and B cells.  Somatic Cell Genetics 3, 303-312.

2. Pearson, T., G. Galfre, A. Ziegler and C. Milstein, 1977.  A myeloma hybrid-producing antibody specific for an allotypic determinant on "IgD-like" molecules of the mouse.  Eur. J. Immunol. 7, 684-690.

3. Anderson, N.L., N.M. Parish, J.P. Richardson and T.W. Pearson, 1985.  Comparison of African trypanosomes of different antigenic phenotypes, subspecies and life cycle stages by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis.  Mol. Biochem. Parasitol. 16, 299-314

4. Pearson, T.W., 2001.  Procyclins, proteases and proteomics: dissecting trypanosomes in the tsetse fly.  Trends Microbiol.  9, 299-301.

3. Haines, L.R., Haddow, J.D., Aksoy, S., Gooding, R.H. and Pearson, T.W.  2002.  The major protein in the midgut of teneral Glossina morsitans morsitans is a molecular chaperone from the endosymbiotic bacterium Wigglesworthia glossinidia.  Insect Biochem and Mol. Biol. 32, 1429-38.

5. Haines, L. R., Hancock, R.E.W. and Pearson, T.W.  2003.  Cationic antimicrobial peptide killing of African trypanosomes and Sodalis glossinidius, a bacterial symbiont of the insect vector of African trypanosomes.  Vector Borne and Zoo. Dis. 3, 175-186. 

 

6. Anderson, N.L., Haines, L.R. and Pearson T. W.  2004.  An effective and rapid method for functional characterization of immunoadsorbents using POROS beads and flow cytometry.  J. Proteome Res. 3, 228-234.

 

7. Anderson, N. L., Anderson, N. G., Haines, L.R., Hardie, D. B., Olafson, R. W. and Pearson, T.W. 2004.  Mass Spectrometric Quantitation of Peptides and Proteins Using Stable Isotope Standards and Capture by Anti-Peptide Antibodies (SISCAPA). J. Proteome Res. 3, 235-244.

 

8. Untalan, P.M., Guerrero, F.D., Haines, L.R. and Pearson, T.W.  2005.  Proteome analysis of abundantly expressed proteins from unfed larvae of the cattle tick, Boophilus microplus.  Insect Biochem. Mol. Biol.  35, 141-151.

 

9. Haines, L.R., Jackson, A.M., Lehane, M.J., Thomas,J.M., Yamaguchi, A.Y., Haddow,  J.D. and Pearson, T.W.  2005.  Increased expression of unusual EP repeat-containing proteins in the midgut of the tsetse fly (Glossina) after bacterial challenge.  Insect Biochem. Mol. Biol. 35, 413-423.

 

10. Haddow, J.D., Haines, L.R., Gooding, R.H., Olafson, R.W. and Pearson, T.W.  2005.  Identification of midgut proteins that are differentially expressed in trypanosome-susceptible and normal tsetse flies (Glossina morsitans morsitans) Insect Biochem. Mol. Biol. 35, 425-433.