Albert Heck awarded Wallace H. Coulter Lectureship

Utrecht University professor Albert Heck has been awarded the Wallace H. Coulter Lectureship. Heck receives the prestigious lectureship for his scientific impact and multiple breakthroughs. This prestigious lectureship comprises a $10.000 award and the main plenary lecture at Pittcon.

Biochemist Albert Heck has been selected as the 2022 Wallace H. Coulter Lecturer. He is awarded for his efforts to “advance scientific endeavour through collaboration by bringing together a world of knowledge to impact, enrich, and inspire the future of science”. The lecture is funded by the Wallace H. Coulter Endowment and has a $10,000 honorarium.

Lifetime commitment

The Wallace H. Coulter Award recognizes an outstanding individual who has demonstrated a lifetime commitment, and made important contributions that have had a significant impact on education, practice or research in laboratory science.

Pittcon, short for The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, is regarded as the world’s largest conference and exposition on laboratory science. The 2022 edition will be organised on 5-9 March in Atlanta, Georgia.

Lecture topic

Heck’s Lecture is entitled New Horizons in Mass Spectrometry: Sizing and Counting Particles by Native Mass Spectrometry, referring to the Coulter Principle. The topic illustrates the broad impact of native mass spectrometry on various disciplines within the life sciences – a general theme of increased relevance in this age of epidemiologic concern and personalized health.

Pioneer in mass spectrometry

Heck’s research focuses on the development and applications of mass spectrometry-based proteomics and structural biology. Heck introduced innovative proteomics technologies for phospho-enrichment, the use of stable-isotope-labeling, the use of alternative proteases, and hybrid peptide- and protein-centric fragmentation techniques. He is also known for his expertise in structural biology and glycoproteomics, and is considered a pioneer in native- and cross-linking mass spectrometry.

In honour of Wallace H. Coulter

The Wallace H. Coulter Lectureship is named in honour of American electrical engineer, inventor, and businessman Wallace H. Coulter (1913-1998) He invented the Coulter Principle, an electronic method of counting and classifying microscopic particles suspended in fluid. This principle was incorporated by Coulter in an apparatus to count and classify blood cells, a process that was previously done manually. The apparatus, which came to be known as the Coulter Counter, revolutionized the practice of clinical laboratory medicine.