Abstract

Glycans have recently taken center stage in many areas of biomedical and life sciences, ranging from research on cancer, mammalian development and physiology to studies of plants, bacteria and viruses. Glycoconjugates, the most complex and rapidly evolving building blocks of life, play a plethora of biological roles in all life forms. Connecting glycan structures with their functions at molecular, cellular and organismal levels will be the focus of this research conference. The field of Glycobiology is making great strides towards uncovering paradigms of glycan functions in various biological and evolutionary contexts. This exciting progress is based on new developments in the areas of advanced technologies for structural analyses and synthesis of complex glycans, computational tools for glycobiologists, approaches to study functions in a variety of biological models, and genetic strategies to unveil pathomechanisms of disorders associated with glycosylation defects. This conference will continue the tradition to be a unifying forum to present and discuss these developments in an open collegial atmosphere that stimulates novel ideas and collaborations. New results from a variety of interdisciplinary projects will be presented in approximately 50 talks, including plenary lectures and short talks selected from poster abstracts, and will be discussed during interactive poster sessions. Following a recent tradition, a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on Glycobiology will be organized in conjunction with the GRC to promote research leadership skills of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and to foster their mentorship by established researchers.