According to Kruip, Aventis seeks people with skills in mass spectrometry and protein and peptide chromatographic separation, but as proteomics continues to evolve, so does the definition of a qualified worker. "Right now there is no such thing as a proteomicist," says David Jensen, scientific recruiter of Search Masters International, Downer's Grove, IL. Jensen and Kruip describe the ideal candidate as one who blends an ability to work with specialized lab equipment with a working knowledge of X-ray crystallography, protein chemistry, and computational chemistry. "[But] it can't be expected for someone to have been trained exclusively in proteomics," Jensen observes.
Some fledgling scientists are jumping ahead by acquiring specific proteomics skills on their own. "I just wanted to expand the NMR [nuclear magnetic resonance] knowledge I had for the structural genomics/proteomics approach," says Daniel Monleon, a postdoc trainee at the Rutgers University center of advanced biotechnology in Piscataway, NJ.
Monleon ...
