CIB Munteanu (ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2998-0458) is a Senior Researcher III (SRIII) at the Institute of Biochemistry of the Romanian Academy (IBRA) and Head of the Liquid Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry Facility (Protein Chemistry Core Facility – PCF) with 10+ years expertise in analytical biochemistry, particularly large-scale OMICs analysis using mass spectrometry, involving the full workflow from experimental design to sample preparation and computational analysis. Resources: The IBRA PCF is part of the Bioinformatics and Structural Biochemistry Department (DBSB) and includes the latest equipment for systems biology investigation: a 300 bar nanoLC system for the separation of biomolecules, a high resolution LTQ- Orbitrap Velos Pro hybrid instrument and a 600 bar HPLC system with UV-VIS and fluorescence detection for biomolecular separations coupled with a Dionex 3000 fraction collector. The department provides access to IBRA computing centre that includes computational infrastructure required for large-scale mass spectrometry and sequencing data processing and analysis. The IBRA PCF unit includes personnel with relevant expertise in biochemistry, sample preparation and data analysis. The facility published >50 peer-reviewed articles on proteomics, glycolipidomics and small molecule analysis using high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) employing both conventional and novel workflows.
Dr Munteanu’s expertise in metaproteomic analysis will be crucial for Aim 2, enabling the identification of brain peptides and proteins altered by FMT. These identified molecules will then be utilized in Aim 3 to evaluate their functional effects on neurons and glial cells, both in isolation and in co-culture systems. This approach will provide valuable insights into the mechanisms by which gut microbiota modulation influences neuronal function and potentially impacts neurodegenerative processes.