ESPC Vienna! IMP is ready for precision medicine. Is your institution?

Holy shit, yo. Not to brag in a great big orange box where I type words, but this might be the best mass spec conference I've ever been to.

Disclaimers: 

1) Vienna is AMAZING (that's my own bias)

2) I got to meet a bunch of people I've respected for years and get to sit down and talk to them finally. (Don't worry, I didn't do my whole "you're the bass player for In Flames, wanna see your band's logo on my butt" thing) Disclaimer. That is a joke and is NOT real. And there definitely isn't an Orbitrap tattooed on my upper leg (not my butt, that's different) either, I don't care who says they were there when Karl and I got them. 

I was legit cool, most of the time, but holy shit, this was a great meeting 

3) And I do not, in any way mean this to reflect poorly on any other meeting I've been to. 

European SCP was super cool, though. Obviously, we all have schedules, so we missed a couple of the international leaders in this space, but Europe is embracing single cell proteomics at a level that is unbelievable.

Right before I arrived the ESCP it was announced that my good friends at the world leading IMP Proteomics Facility had received an award to help support their goal of applying Single Cell Proteomics to help human diagnostics -- in the form of a $2.5M Euro award! 

And you might think "big deal, the rich got richer in the form of a bunch of cool stuff for a facility that has everything" and I really can see that, but you'd be surprised by what these facilities here in the middle of Vienna end up doing. SO MANY RESEARCHERS are supported her through this world class facility. Yes, there is a lot of world class talent, but then 

YOU SEE A RECORDING OF A SURGEON REMOVING A TUMOR FROM A HUMAN BRAIN FROM A LIVING HUMAN PERSON

AND

A SURGEON TELLS YOU THAT single cell proteomics (SINGLE CELL PROTEOMICS) HELPED THEM DIAGNOSE WHAT THAT TUMOR TYPE WAS-- that a pathologist completely mis-diagnosed using normal clinical means!

There was a surgeon right here. Right in front of me. Showing that single cell proteomics helped him diagnose a patient correctly! A real human being!  That could someone you love and this surgeon showed the surgery and thanked Peter and Karl and their labs for helping him with his work. And I had trouble talking for a while, because if you can tinker with mass spec toys and push out data good enough to help someone who cut a hole in someone's skull - that's something to be proud of for the rest of your life. 

And there was all sorts of amazing data here and amazing brilliant people and scary impressive young people doing shockingly good work, but IMP is digging in for the future of precision medicine and embracing single cell proteomics to help make it happen. Honestly, just an amazingly overwhelming couple of days and super cool meeting. 

(Edited to remove multiple bad words)