Scott Tanner on measuring cell biomarkers and Olympic gymnastics. Ben Merison investigates

	Scott Tanner is an associate professor in the department of chemistry at the University of Toronto, Canada. He is coordinating a multidisciplinary, multi-institute project to develop instrumentation, reagents and methods for the multi-parametric determination of biomarkers of individual cells and particles. He is also on the Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry (JAAS) editorial board.

 

Who or what inspired you to become a scientist?

I bought my first chemistry set when I was six. Growing up in the 1950s and 60s meant that my chemistry bent towards highly exothermic reactions conducted in tubes with fins and a nose cone. My real inspiration came from Professors Cherniak and Koffyberg at Brock University (St. Catharines, Canada) who provided lab space, materials and much patient instruction to me when I was trying to replicate Rutherford's experiment of shooting alpha particles through gold foil. Though my current research is directed to cell biology problems, I am really still a physical-analytical chemist. This new adventure began when Dmitry Bandura, Vladimir Baranov and I, inspired by Olga Ornatsky, realised that atomic mass spectrometry has well-developed capabilities that could answer the challenges of multi-parameter cell biomarker analysis.

What are you working on at the moment?
I have a wonderful multidisciplinary research group who are developing metal-encoded polymers and beads that are used in immunological staining of cells, and the high-speed 'reader' of those cells based on inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The technology is aimed at producing a mass spectrometer analogue of flow cytometry that permits the simultaneous measurement of many biomarkers in individual cells at up to 1000 cells per second. This development is principally aimed at accurately detecting early-stage diseased cells, such as cancer stem cells, that are extremely rare in patients' samples, and to allow the investigation of protein translational pathways that reflect the genesis of disease at the single cell level. A significant challenge of the overall project is to bridge the gap between atomic MS and cell biology, two fields that have had little, if any, communion.

What's the hardest problem you have encountered and how did you solve it?
I think my most difficult technical challenge was developing a method for high throughput trace-level dioxin measurement in food and soil in the early 1980s. That was finally solved with the development of a glow discharge ion source linked with flash gas chromatography and an early incarnation of triple quadrupole MS. Interestingly, it was my attempt to deal with the high ion current flow in the glow discharge source that first brought my attention to ICP-MS.

You were recently appointed to the editorial board of JAAS. What excites you most about this new role?

I look forward to helping JAAS identify and promote new areas of application of atomic spectrometry and new researchers working in areas that make a difference to society. In particular, I look to the fostering and development of a variety of atomic spectrometries to biological challenges. I think that JAAS is the preferred venue for publications relating to the technologies and demonstrative applications, after which publications relating to practical applications might migrate, for example, to the new Metallomics journal.

What do you love about your job? And what parts could you do without?
The best part of my job is the people I work with. My development team, which integrates the university researchers and company engineers, is enthusiastic, capable, creative, committed and a lot of fun. Adding to that, I collaborate closely with a number of outstanding and respected researchers in other fields that raise the bar for scientific success. The part of my day that I would least regret losing is the three hour public transit commute.

What's the key to being a successful project team leader and how do you keep up morale?
The obvious key is to have all the right people. The current team has been some 15 years in the making and includes some people that we had to track down after being out of touch for more than a decade. Our basic structure is premised on mutual respect, confidence and concern. The core team also happens to include my closest personal friends. I had some really good advice from an early mentor: 'it is not possible to manage a top-notch group of researchers: the best you can do is guide them.' We hold regular cultural events where we attend a museum, art show or other artistic event followed by discussion with suitable libations at a local watering hole.

What do you hope your research will lead to within the next decade?
I hope and expect that our research will allow biomedical research to evolve into the genesis of disease, drug discovery and development, and eventually clinical diagnosis and prognosis. I believe that personalised health management, through the application of bioinformatics based on genomic and proteomic information, will be enabled with massively multi-parametric analysis of single cells. It is at the single cell level where a sufficient biomarker signature will be able to identify a diseased cell early enough to allow effective and specific therapeutic response with minimal adverse effects.

If you could be any famous scientist from history responsible for a groundbreaking discovery, who would you be and why?
I think I'd choose to be Frederick Banting. He and his colleagues discovered insulin, which has had enormous impact on people and society. If I were he, it also means that I'd be working in Canada!

What past times or hobbies do you get up to in your spare time?
My wife and I are part of an English hand bells choir and in the winter I vice-skip a curling team.

You were a member of the Canadian Olympic gymnastic team. Which games did you compete at?
Gymnastics was a defining part of my life, even beyond my competitive years of the late 1960s to mid 70s. My goal was the 1976 Montreal Olympics. I made it as far as being selected for the national team 2, but was injured during the 1976 tryouts. I decided against holding on for the 1980 Moscow games, which was a prescient decision since those games were boycotted. Instead, I went to grad school, and took on administrative roles in the national gymnastics federation, where I was national judging chairman through the 1984 LA games. The most important part of my gymnastics career, though, is that this is where I met my wife, Linda!

I've also heard that you can walk on your hands while holding a pint. Are there any pictures you can send us?
This feat was purportedly executed at Durham Castle, UK, and to the best of my knowledge there are no remaining pictures available. I recall that a later attempt to repeat the performance in Hamburg, Germany, failed miserably. I have become a firm believer that walking on one's hands is not compatible with the simultaneous consumption of a pint, or if pictures should prove otherwise then at the least this is not an elegant pursuit.

Finally, if you weren't a scientist (or an Olympic gymnast!), what would you be?
Was there another choice?