I was an undergraduate student conducting research at Duke University when I first learned that every cell in our bodies is wrapped in a “sugar coat” called glycocalyx. Or, more precisely, cells are covered with thousands of complex carbohydrates—glycans—built from a small set of building blocks that can be combined in remarkably diverse ways. This idea caught my interest, and I wanted to know what exactly those sugars were doing.
Complex carbohydrates are more than molecular decorations. They serve an essential function in human development and act as communicators to the outside world on behalf of cells. They play critical roles in nearly every biological function, including cell signaling, development, the immune system, and protein folding. When glycans are absent or altered, the mutations can cause disorders in the heart, lungs, gut, and other organs, and can lead to cancer.
Glycoscience is an understudied field with tremendous potential for improving human health.
Today, I work at the University of Georgia’s Complex Carbohydrate Research Center (CCRC), one of the world’s leading hubs for glycoscience. The expertise concentrated here is extraordinary, and the center houses state-of-the-art instrumentation for glycan analysis, including advanced mass spectrometers and NMR spectrometers.
My lab focuses on identifying novel glycan structures in humans, the proteins they modify, and the enzymes that facilitate these modifications. From there, we investigate their biological function. By understanding these complex functions, we hope to uncover new targets for therapies in treating cancer and developmental disorders.
In addition to that research, I also co-direct the NIH-funded Glycoscience Training Program, a predoctoral initiative that immerses graduate students in the study of glycans. Training the next generation of scientists in this often-overlooked field ensures that glycoscience continues to inform and advance biomedical research and strengthens my belief that this fascinating work can deliver life-changing improvements in human health.
