With this CAREER award from the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program, Professor Ronghu Wu and his group at Georgia Institute of Technology will develop novel analytical methods for the global characterization of glycoproteins in complex biological samples. Protein glycosylation is essential to the survival of eukaryotic cells and is involved in nearly every cellular event. Based on the common features and unique properties of glycans, new strategies integrating chemical and/or enzymatic reactions and modern mass spectrometry-based proteomics techniques will be designed to specifically and comprehensively analyze glycoproteins. The proposed methods will provide a unique opportunity to systemically study the regulation of protein secretion by glycosylation in yeast cells, which will result in an in-depth understanding of the functions of protein glycosylation. The newly developed methods will find extensive applications in biological and biochemical research communities and promote the progress of glycoscience.
The proposed research could have a major impact in the field of glycoprotein studies and in the biology/biochemistry research community in general. The proposed research and educational activities will also provide graduate and undergraduate students, including those from historically underrepresented groups, training opportunities in this highly interdisciplinary research including analytical chemistry, chemical biology, instrumentation and large-scale data analysis. In addition, through Georgia Tech's Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing, the PI and his group will actively participate in outreach activities with high school chemistry teachers and students.
