Orton, Dennis
PhD
Academic Rank(s): Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, UBC | Clinical Biochemist, BC Children’s Hospital
Affiliation(s): BC Children’s and Women’s
Clinical Interests: diagnostic tests, pharmacogenomics, proteomics
Dennis Orton, PhD, FCACB, is an Investigator and Clinical Biochemist at BC Children’s Hospital and Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia. With extensive expertise in clinical mass spectrometry and laboratory medicine, he specializes in developing minimally invasive diagnostic methods for pediatric applications. His research focuses on improving clinical testing through mass spectrometry-based methods, particularly in proteomics and pharmacogenomics. Dr. Orton combines clinical service with teaching and research, working to advance diagnostic testing while minimizing sample requirements for pediatric patients.
Academic Background
- Fellowship, Clinical Biochemistry, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 2017
- PhD, Pathology (Biomarker Discovery in Congenital Urinary Tract Obstruction), Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 2014
- BSc, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology/Immunology and Microbiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 2009
Awards and Recognition
Publications
- Targeted proteomic approach for quantification of collagen type I and type III in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue Scientific Reports Nicole L. Rosin, Tara M. L. Winstone, Margaret Kelley, Jeff Biernaskie, Antoine Dufour, Dennis J. Orton (2024)
- Understanding Elevated Vitamin D Measurements to Uncover Hypercalcemia Etiology Clinical Chemistry (2024)
- Increased Lp(a) Workload Volumes Reflect Uptake of the 2021 Canadian Cardiovascular Society Guidelines for Management of Dyslipidemia Canadian Journal of Cardiology (2024)
- Agreement of LC-MS assays for IGF-1 traceable to NIST and WHO standards permits harmonization of reference intervals between laboratories Clinical Biochemistry (2023)
- Distribution of videos demonstrating best practices in preventing hemolysis is associated with reduced hemolysis among nurse-collected specimens in hospitals Clinical Biochemistry (2023)
- Biological variation in clozapine and metabolite reporting during therapeutic drug monitoring Clinica Chimica Acta (2022)
- Exosomal proteomic analysis reveals changes in the urinary proteome of rats with unilateral ureteral obstruction Canadian Journal of Chemistry (2018)
- Bone metabolism Endocrine Biomarkers: Clinicians and Clinical Chemists in Partnership (2017)
- Novel approach to establishing an aldosterone: Renin ratio cutoff for primary aldosteronism Hypertension (2017)
- One-step extraction and quantitation of toxic alcohols and ethylene glycol in plasma by capillary gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization detection (FID) Clinical Biochemistry (2016)
- Fasting time and vitamin B12 levels in a community-based population Clinica Chimica Acta (2016)
- Critically high plasma ammonia in an adolescent girl Clinical Chemistry (2016)
- Resolubilization of precipitated intact membrane proteins with cold formic acid for analysis by mass spectrometry Journal of Proteome Research (2014)
- Proteomic analysis of rat proximal tubule cells following stretch-induced apoptosis in an in vitro model of kidney obstruction Journal of Proteomics (2014)
- Dual LC-MS platform for high-throughput proteome analysis Journal of Proteome Research (2013)
- GELFrEE fractionation combined with mass spectrometry for proteome analysis of secreted toxins from Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) Molecular and Cellular Probes (2013)
- Proteomic workflows for biomarker identification using mass spectrometry – Technical and statistical considerations during initial discovery Proteomes (2013)
- A universal, high recovery assay for protein quantitation through temperature programmed liquid chromatography (TPLC) Journal of Chromatography B (2013)
- The htpAB operon of Legionella pneumophila cannot be deleted in the presence of the groE chaperonin operon of Escherichia coli Canadian Journal of Microbiology (2011)
Research Interest
- Clinical Mass Spectrometry (method development for protein and small molecule analysis)
- Proteomics (targeted analysis in clinical samples, particularly FFPE tissue)
- Pharmacogenomics (drug metabolism, adverse drug reactions)
- Clinical Biochemistry (diagnostic test development, biomarker discovery)
- Rare Disease Diagnostics (particularly in pediatric settings)
- Laboratory Medicine (test development and validation for clinical applications)