RCG meeting
On September 24, 2021, we welcomed three new emerging talents working here at Radboudumc and Radboud University in the field of glycoscience or related fields and gave them a chance to present their work:
Hanka Venselaar, assistant professor at the Centre for Molecular and Biomolecular Informatics, introduced her work on structural bioinformatics to solve biological questions using the knowledge obtained from 3D-protein structure. Her presentation was titled: "The Power of Protein Structures"
Christian Büll will start an independent research group at the Department of Biomolecular Chemistry (IMM). There, his group will focus on understanding the biosynthetic rules and biological functions of protein glycosylation using biochemical and genetic glycoengineering. He talked about the "Genetic (De)Construction of the Human Glycome"
We would also like to welcome Laia Querol Cano, assistant professor at the Tumor Immunology Department (RIMLS). Her work focuses on understanding the role of Galectins in dendritic cell function, with a particular interest in anti-tumor immunity. She will introduce her work at one of our next meetings.
RCG Meeting: Radboud Consortium for Glycoscience
05 February 2020
Our RCG meeting took place on February 5th. We had two great presentations from Paola de Haas and Marissa Maciej Hulme.
Scientific talks:
Paola de Haas is a PhD student in the group of Alessandra Cambi where she has been working on the role of integrin glycosylation in CDG patient fibroblasts. She and her students look at the cells in 2D and in 3D collagen matrices, to see if migration is altered in fibroblasts with a glycosylation defect. They see altered integrin glycosylation in some patients and are investigating if this corresponds to altered membrane localization and impaired focal adhesion formation. In addition, they look at cell morphology and migration.
Her talk has the title:
Sticky sugars: Understanding the role of integrin glycosylation in human fibroblasts
Marissa Maciej Hulme is a Postdoc in the group of Johan van der Vlag. She will present work from the GLYCOTREAT project funded by Health Holland that illuminates the role of specific heparan sulphate biochemical structure as novel potential biomarkers and inflammatory treatment drugs for glomerular diseases.
Her talk has the title:
Heparan sulphate domains as novel biomarkers and drugs for inflammatory glomerular diseases.
Strategy Meeting: Radboud Consortium for Glycoscience
04 December 2019
The strategy meeting with our PI's took place on December 4th. We discussed the future direction of the consortium, funding opportunities, collaborations and more.
Talk on: 'Protein sialylation in the nervous system: A functional perspective from the Drosophila model' by Vlad Panin from the Texas A&M University
21 November 2019
Professor Vlad Panin of Texas A&M University gave a fascinating lecture on protein analysis in the nervous system on November 21 at 15:30 in the Aletta Jacobszaal, Route 802 at Radboudumc.
About his research:
Glycans play a wide spectrum of essential roles in animals. Defects in protein glycosylation are associated with many human disorders while causing pronounced neurological abnormalities. However, the complexity of the nervous system, the intricacy of glycosylation pathways, and limitations of genetic approaches provide significant obstacles for mechanistic studies in mammals. Using the advantages of the Drosophila model, we elucidate conserved mechanisms underlying the function of protein glycosylation in the nervous system. We employ a multidisciplinary approach to investigate the role of sialylation in neural development and physiology. Our research uncovered new functions of sialylated glycans in the control of neural excitability and glia-neuron interactions. These results suggest that neural sialylation is regulated by novel mechanisms that may shed new light on the pathogenesis of neurological disorders.
Professor Vlad Panin of Texas A&M University gave a fascinating lecture on protein analysis in the nervous system on November 21 at 15:30 in the Aletta Jacobszaal, Route 802 at Radboudumc.
Meeting: Radboud Consortium for Glycoscience
30 October 2019
Our consortium meeting took place on 30 October 2019 with scientific presentations from Emiel Rosing and Ester Willems.
Scientific talks:
Emiel Rossing is a PhD student in the Boltje group where he studies new metabolic pathways in health and disease. He will present work on the development of new monosaccharides that can modulate the glycosylation of bacterial and mammalian cells. The compounds act by the inhibition of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of complex glycans.
Esther Willems is a PhD student in the laboratory of Medical Immunology working for the PERFORM project. She is focusing on the discovery and verification of novel biomarkers for bacterial infections. In one of her projects she investigates site-specific glycosylation changes in plasma in response to a bacterial or viral infection by means of glycopeptide profiling. Her talk has the title: 'The sweet separation between pediatric bacterial and viral infections by intact glycopeptide profiling in plasma’.
Inaugural speech of Prof. Dr. Dirk Lefeber
06 June 2019
Professor Dr. Dirk Lefeber is working on Glycosylation Disorders in Neurology at the Radboud University / Faculty of the Medical sciences and was included in an academic Session on Thursday 6 June 2019 at 15.45 hours to take up his office, by speaking out of his speech entitled: Zoete Praatjes ? ('Sweet talks?')