This CAREER award by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry supports work by Professor Heather Desaire at the University of Kansas to develop techniques to modify the glycosylation of glycoproteins. These studies are important because glycosylation is the most common post-translational modification of proteins, and it can have many effects on the protein, including controlling its binding properties, modifying the amount of time it circulates in the bloodstream, and altering its three-dimensional structure. Professor Desaire and her students will use a series of enzymes known to modify protein glycosylation in vivo to alter glycosylation on various isolated proteins. Results will support structure/function studies.
This work includes an innovative teaching-research partnership at the University of Kansas, where undergraduate students and high school science teachers contribute to advancing the research goals while learning about the research process. A team of advanced undergraduates will conduct their own semester-long research project as partial fulfillment of requirements in Instrumental Analysis. High school science teachers will contribute during summer internships with Dr. Desaire's group.
