Katina L Johnson

Accomplished protein mass spectrometry chemist with 20 years of expertise of using mass spectrometry-based workflow for protein analysis, complemented by 5 years of specialized small molecule mass spectrometry. Proven proficiency in developing and optimizing mass spectrometry methods for protein analysis. Demonstrated independence in designing, implementing and performing experiments, including the analysis, interpretation and presentation of the data, and providing valuable input on collaborative projects and ensuring the reproducibility of results and timely completion of projects. While still primarily focused on protein analysis, in the last 5 years successfully gained and applied the skills needed to small molecule analysis, showcasing the adaptability and commitment to accomplishing the mission of providing state of the art mass spectrometry analysis to the institute. Superior organizational skills and ability to successfully adapt to frequently shifting priorities as demonstrated by leading multiple ongoing protein and small molecule projects while also being involved in DEIA committee within department of intramural research, Blacks in Governments and Women in Science.

Instrument Maintenance: Oversee regular maintenance and calibration of mass spectrometry instruments to ensure optimal performance. Coordinate with service engineers for preventative maintenance, repairs and upgrades of instruments. Address and resolve issue related to the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometer performance to minimize downtime.

Method Development and Optimization: Design, develop and maintain optimized mass spectrometry methods for protein analysis, contributing to enhanced analytical procedures and experimental protocols. Engage with researchers to understand project goals and for appropriate mass spectrometry experimental design. Staying updated on emerging techniques to enhance analytical capabilities.

Training and Supervise: Train fellows and summer students on HPLC and mass spectrometry techniques and basic instrument operation. Supervise and coordinate summer student’s activities.

Quality Control and Waste Management: Implement quality control measures to ensure accurate and reproducible results. Proper disposal of lab waste and hazardous lab waste material.

Continued Professional Development: Staying current with advancement in mass spectrometry and related technologies through continuous learning, participating in local events, attending workshops and national conferences.

Instrument Procurement: Procurement of new instrument and software solution packages recommendation are based on articles in scientific journals and publication, vendor product documentation and ease of integration into the current workflow.

Other Lab Duties: Maintaining chemical inventory for protein analysis, labeled and unlabeled standards for small molecule analysis. Maintaining the supplies needed for HPLC and mass spectrometer. Perform data back up on servers and other computers. NIEHS Property inventory manager for the Mass Spectrometry Research Support Group.

ThermoScientific Q Exactive Plus Hybrid Quadrupole Orbitrap

ThermoScientific TSQ Quantiva Triple Quadrupole

Thermo TSQ8000 Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer

Sciex 6500+ Triple Quadrupole Ion Trap Hybrid Mass Spectrometer

Waters Synapt G2-Si Q-Tof

Applied Biosystems 4700/4800 Proteomic Analyzer

ThermoScientific Vanquish UHPLC

ThermoScientific Ultimate 3000 UHPLC

Agilent 1100/1200 nanoLC systems

Waters Acquity UPLC system

ThermoScientific Proteome Discoverer 3.0

ThermoScientific Excalibur 4.1

ThermoScientific TraceFinder 4.1 

PEAKS Studio 11

Protein Prospector v 6.5.0

Agilent Technologies Spectrum Mill Proteome Software

Applied Biosystems Data Explorer 4.0 

Applied Biosystems ProteinPilot 4.1 

Matrix Science Mascot 

Proteome Software Scaffold 2.0 

Waters Mass Lynx 4.1 

Waters PLGS 2.5

Waters Progenesis QI

Trempus, C.S., Papas, B.N., Sifre, M.I., Bortner, C.D., Scappini, E., Tucker, C. J., Xu, X., Johnson, K.L., Deterding, L.J., Williams, J.G., Johnson D.J., Li, J-L., Sutton, D., Ganta, C.K., Mahapatra, D., Arif, M., Basu, A., Pommerolle, L., Cinar, R., Perl, A.K., Garantziotis, S. Functional PDGFRa fibroblast heterogeneity in normal and fibrotic mouse lung. JCI Insight. 8:22, 2023

Phillips, B.T., Williams J. G., Atchley, D.T., Xu, X, Li, J-L., Adams, A.L., Johnson, K.L., Hall, T.M. Mass spectrometric identification of candidate RnA-binding proteins

associated with Transition NuclearProtein mRnA in the mouse testis. Scientific Reports. 9:13618, 2019

Johnson, K.L., Williams, J.G., Maleki, S.J., Hurlburt, B.K., London, R.E., Mueller, G.A. Enhanced Approaches for Identifying Amadori Products: Application to Peanut Allergens. J Agric Food Chem. 64:1406-1413, 2016

Mueller, G.A., Maleki, S.J., Johnson, K.L., Hurlburt, B.K., Cheng, H., Ruan, S., Nesbit, J.B., Pomes, A., Edwards, L.L., Schorzman, A.N., Deterding, L.J., Park, H., Tomer,K.B., London, R.E., Williams, J.G. Identification of Maillard reaction products on peanut allergens that influence binding to the receptor for advanced glycation end products. Allergy. 68 1546-1554, 2013

Garcia, M.C., Williams, J.G., Johnson, K.L., Olden, K., Roberts, J.D. Arachidonic acid stimulates formation of a novel complex containing nucleolin and RhoA. FEBS Lett. 585:618-622, 2011

McCormack, T., Petrovich, R.M., Mercier, K.A., DeRose, E.F., Cuneo, M.J., Williams, J.G., Johnson, K.L., Lamb, P.W., London, R.E., Yakel, J.L. Identification and functional characterization of a novel acetylcholine-binding protein from the marine annelid Capitella teleta. Biochemistry. 49:2279-2287, 2010

Smyth, J.T., Petranka, J.G., Boyles, R.R., DeHaven, W.I., Fukushima, M., Johnson, K.L., Williams, J.W., Putney, J.W. Phosphorylation of STIM1 underlies suppression of store-operated calcium entry during mitosis. Nat Cell Biol. 11:1465-1475, 2009

Wei, S.J., Williams, J.G., Dang, H., Darden, T.A., Betz, B.L., Humble, M.M., Chang, F.M., Trempus, C.S., Johnson, K.L., Cannon, R.E., Tennant, R.W. Identification of a specific motif of the DSS1 protein required for proteasome interaction and p53 protein degradation. J Mol Biol. 383:693-712, 2008

Posters

Johnson, K.L., Mueller, G.A., Maleki, S.J., Pomes, A., London, R,E., Williams, J.G.: Identification of Amadori Products on Proteins From Roasted Peanut Extracts Using MS3 Approaches and Novel Computational Methods. 63nd American Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, June 2015

Johnson, K.L., Mueller, G.A., Maleki, S.J., Schorzman, A.N., Pomes, A., Edwards, L.L., Park, H., Deterding, L.J., Tomer, K.B., London, R,E.. Williams, J.G.: Identification of AGE modifications to peanut allergens using LC-ESI based Mass Spectrometry. 61nd American Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, June 2013

Johnson, K.L., Cuneo, M.J., London, R.E., Tomer, K.B., Williams, J.G.: Rapid, Isotope-Coded Method for Mapping Protein-Protein and Protein-Ligand Interactions. 57nd American Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, June 2009

Wei, S.J., Johnson, K.L., Dang, H., Darden, T.A., Detz, B.L., Humble, M.M., Trempus, C.S., Williams, J.G., Cannon, R.E., Tennant, R.W.: Identification of Binding Partners of hDSS1 using MALDI and LC-ESI based Mass Spectrometry. 56nd American Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, May 2008

Williams, J.G., Johnson, K.L., Tomer, K.B.: Molecular Cargo Ships: Employing Carrier Proteins to Lower the Detection Limits of Peptides. 53nd American Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, June 2005

Oral

“Advances in Mass Spectrometry”, Tri-Joint Group Meeting, NIEHS, April 2014

“Identification of Advance Glycation End Products modifications to Peanut Allergens”, Tri-Joint Group Meeting, NIEHS, May 2013.

DEIA training courses:

Science Behind Personality, February 2024

Creating Safe Workspaces, February 2024

Psychological Safety in the Workplace, August 2023

Civility and Respect: Recognizing and Addressing Microaggressions, August 2023

Unconscious Bias, Emotional Intelligence, and Inclusion, June 2023

Inclusive Intelligence and Performance Management, June 2023

The Way of the Game Changer: Creating Inclusive Culture, February 2023

Thermo Scientific Proteome Discoverer 3.0 Software Workshop, September 2023

Waters Corporation Maintaining Acquity UPLC Systems, October 2017

4700 Proteomic Analyzer MALDI/TOF/TOF at Applied Biosystems, December 2003

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, and EndNote classes at NIEHS

Triangle Area Mass Spectrometry Summer Teaching Series

Vendor Sponsored User Meetings for Agilent Technologies, Thermo Scientific and

Waters Corporation

NIEHS Group Merit Award 2023

NIEHS performance award: 2009-2023 

Promotion from GS-9 to GS-11, 2007 

NIEHS individual cash award: 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2017

Blacks in Government

Association of Biomolecular Research Facilities
The American Society of Mass Spectrometry
Triangle Area Mass Spectrometry Discussion Group
The American Chemical Society

Office of Science Education & Diversity- NIEHS April 2017
Spoke with 25 high school students from North Carolina Area Health Education Center in Fayetteville, NC on my career path while emphasizing the many educational opportunities experienced along the way.

Office of Science Education & Diversity- NIEHS May 2014
Spoke with 50 students from Hillside High School in Durham, NC on my career path.
Lead an interactive session to motivate the young minds on STEMs program, promote the importance of education and to encourage to students to explore diverse paths.

Delta Sigma Theta and Omega Psi Phi Back to School Drive- Durham, NC August 2013
Participated in a back to school program for students K-5 at W.G. Pearson. Contributed to organizing educational activities, distribution of school supplies and providing support for students transitioning into the next academic year.

Bio-Bus Fellowship - Georgia State University December 2001-June 2003
The Bio-Bus is a mobile instructional laboratory aimed at exposing K-12 grade students to hands-on experiences with emerging topics in science. My major duties included leading educational modules teaching principles in chemistry and human anatomy.

Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate- Georgia State University June 2001-August 2002
Lead training and mentoring for summer students focusing on several different molecular biology techniques such as cloning and protein expression. Provided hands-on guidance in laboratory protocols, troubleshooting and data interpretation. Emphasized good lab practices and practical skills in a collaborative learning environment to enhance the students understanding.