Associate ProfessorMark Larance

Associate Professor Mark Larance leads a research program applying advanced mass spectrometry-based proteomics to human disease (metabolic, cardiovascular, cancer), with a focus on new protein modifications and single-cell analysis. His laboratory's philosophy is unbiased discovery and using quantitative proteomics to reveal novel regulatory mechanisms that could be targeted therapeutically.

The centrepiece of his program is a new form of protein O-glycosylation. In 2024, his team discovered domain-specific O-fucosylation on EMI domains. In collaboration with Professor Robert Haltiwanger (University of Georgia), he identified the two human enzymes responsible, a discovery that led to the renaming of two human genes (FUT10 and FUT11 to POFUT3 and POFUT4). His group is now mapping the regulation, functions and conservation of this modification from its chemistry to physiology.

A second theme is cardiovascular and metabolic disease. With Dr Freda Passam (RPA), his team identified SEC61B as a driver of platelet hyperreactivity in type 2 diabetic patients, a potential new drug target. This work now extends to the analysis of megakaryocytes through novel cell culture models and bone marrow biopsies.This work aims to understand platelet production and dysfunction in disease states, allowing identification of new pathways for intervention.

The third theme is single-cell proteomics. He leads the establishment of a national single-cell proteomics platform across five NSW universities, and Australia's first dedicated cancer single-cell proteomics laboratory in partnership with RPA, the Garvan Institute and Lifehouse. His team is developing the underlying workflows with Thermo Fisher Scientific and SCIEX, with applications in precision medicine.