The objectives of the Glycoscience Training Program (GTP) for Predoctoral Students are to train students in research that focuses on both the chemical and biological aspects of glycans and glycoconjugates, and their expression, as they relate primarily to biomedicine. The rationale for this program was highlighted by the National Academies' 2012 study entitled Transforming Glycoscience: A Roadmap of the Future, which demonstrated the great potential that Glycoscience holds for biomedicine, as well as other applications such as bio-energy. Glycoscience involves the study of the function and structure of glycans, the enzymes that regulate their expression, and the genes and regulatory sequences that are involved. The GTP has 22 faculty trainers/mentors from the Chemistry, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Infectious Disease, Microbiology Departments and the Bioinformatics Institute. It accepts students from both the Interdisciplinary Life Sciences and Chemistry department portals. Appointments are for 2 years, after which trainees are supported by their trainers. Trainees conform to the requirements of the department/institute of their trainers' appointment. Key activities are a seminar series, annual retreat, monthly breakfast presentations, special classes such as the ASBMB Scientific Communication short course, and biotechnology career development workshops. All trainees are predoctoral students, and we are requesting six full-time appointments, each for a two year duration. The intended outcomes for our students are to progress to a postdoctoral appointment and/or to enter the workforce in the biotechnology industry.
This proposal is to fund the Glycoscience Training Program for Predoctoral Students. This program trains students in the research of glycans and glycoconjugates, which are key to our physiology. Altered glycans can result in disease and the Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation (CDG), over 110 different CDG are known, which cause birth defects.
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| Dallabernardina, Pietro; Ruprecht, Colin; Smith, Peter J et al. (2017) Automated glycan assembly of galactosylated xyloglucan oligosaccharides and their recognition by plant cell wall glycan-directed antibodies. Org Biomol Chem 15:9996-10000 |
