WHAT DO WE STUDY?
Using protein chemistry to solve biochemical mysteries in the environment
Proteins are the biochemical machines of the cell and can provide a seasoned chemist with a wide range of information on the status or plans of a cell. We use state-of-the-art tandem mass spectrometry technology and bioinformatic tools in order to analyze and decipher protein expression from a variety of samples from the environment. Our focus is the marine environment. Be it particles floating in the ocean, sediments on the ocean floor, phytoplankton adapting to climate change, or bacteria surviving on hydrothermal vent plumes or in Arctic ice channels, we are interested and excited to tackle the project.
WE ARE CURRENTLY SEEKING NEW COLLABORATIONS
ALL DATA IS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE on PRIDE for DOWNLOAD
WE ARE CURRENTLY SEEKING NEW COLLABORATIONS
ALL DATA IS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE on PRIDE for DOWNLOAD
OUR LATEST WORK
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2024 NASA Simulated Mission to detect Extant Life on Mars
In November 2024, Prof. Nunn directed the NASA Mission Ideation Factory (MIF) Phase 2 Simulated Mission, a groundbreaking live-action role-playing (LARP) experience designed to simulate two fully developed science payloads for missions to Mars aimed at detecting extant life. This innovative project spanned three months of development and was supported by her exceptionally talented Mars Mission Simulation Team. The team included UW Astrobiology graduate students Pete Wynn (Lead Geologist), Yuk Chun Chan (Lead Atmospheric Chemist), Andrew Shumway (Lead Mars Expert), Megan Gialluca (Lead Python Coder and Communications Expert), and postdoc (now NASA Johnson Space Center Scientist) Ardith Bravenec (Lead Physical Chemist). Additionally, Felisa Wolfe-Simon, a renowned astrobiologist from the Monterey Bay Research Institute known for her expertise in unique metabolisms and adaptations, co-led the experience with Prof. Nunn.... read more here... See our NEWS page!! Emma Timmins Schiffman went to Antarctica to do the first snow metaproteome! Her Blog is excellent.
August 21 2023: Dr. Nunn was invited to speak at National Academy of Sciences panel on Continental Scale Biology- See her talk HERE!
Subzero, saline incubations of Colwellia psychrerythraea reveal strategies and biomarkers for sustained life in extreme icy environments
Led by Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate student Miranda Mudge 
Physiological and molecular responses of lobe coral indicate nearshore adaptations to anthropogenic stressors
A collaboration with University of Hawaii Bob Richmand's lab and led by Kaho Tishammer 
MetaGOmics is OPEN ACCESS!
"Fear the awesome power of metaproteo-oceanographiomics (TM pending)" -Michael Riffle 
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In Collaboration with the Whalen Lab at Haverford Bacterial quorum sensing signal arrests phytoplankton cell division and impacts virus-induced mortality was published in mSphere
Scott Pollara, Jamie Becker, Brook Nunn, Rene Boiteau, Daniel Repeta, Miranda Mudge, Grayton Downing, Davis Chase, Elizabeth Harvey, and Kristen Whalen Cover image below for mSphere article was created by Tasman A. Nunn (a high school intern). 
Above: COVER of MSphere was made by Tasman Nunn (9th grader at Garfield High School).
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STEM OUTREACH
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2023
Tyler Born, a high school student from Montlake High School joined our lab for the summer to learn about our science and make informative outreach videos for us and the Department of Genome Sciences. click the image below to see his amazing work! 
2019
Jenna Everard, a high school student in Seattle, worked with the Nunn lab in 2019 and won the Research Division of the Regional Student BioExpo Sciene Fair of 2019. 2018 Christina Le and Hana Abay (2 high school students) did a fabulous job at the Washington State Science and Engineering Fair in Bremerton WA in March of 2018. They won several awards (see below).
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ABOUT THE LAB
Brook Nunn joined Michael MacCoss' lab in the Department of Genome Sciences to run the environmental division in 2015 as a Research Assistant Professor. Historically, the Nunn lab has focused our efforts on proteomic profiling. Proteomic profiling allows the investigator to catalog all the proteins expressed at the time of harvest in an unbiased manner and is a very thorough hypothesis-generating method. This method allows us to figure out how the organism is adapting to a unique environment by globally assaying the organism's response or to find out which protein functional groups are common in preserved organic matter.
Since joining the MacCoss lab group, the focus of the lab has shifted. We now include more targeted and quantitative methods. It is an exciting time to be in the proteomics field!
Since joining the MacCoss lab group, the focus of the lab has shifted. We now include more targeted and quantitative methods. It is an exciting time to be in the proteomics field!
This lab is a division of the MacCoss lab of Biological Mass Spectrometry at the University of Washington Department of Genome Sciences. It is currently funded independently by Dr. Brook Nunn through the generous grants provided by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health, and NASA.
University of Washington
Seattle, WA USA
Seattle, WA USA