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Webinar Series

GlycoNet/ACS Joint Webinars:
February, 2021
March, 2021
April, 2021 (TBA)
Past GlycoNet Webinars

GlycoNet offers webinars on diverse topics ranging from scientific research to professional development, technical workshops, and focused seminars for the science community. In September 2020, GlycoNet has joined forces with the Carbohydrate Chemistry Division of American Chemical Society to host webinars featuring renowned researchers across North America and Europe. In addition to Q&A period, each event is followed by an informal “networking session” at the end of the presentations, giving the audience opportunities to learn more about the presenters and their research.

Upcoming Webinars

MARCH, 2021

S4E9: March 10, 11 am – 12:30 pm MT | Register here

Kamil Godula
Associate Director, Glycobiology Research and Training Center, University of California San Diego

Functional polymeric glycomaterials for regulating stem cell differentiation

Kamil Godula is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at UC San Diego. Born and raised in the Czech Republic, he earned his MSc in organic chemistry with William A. Donaldson at Marquette University and his PhD with Dalibor Sames at Columbia University in the area of C-H bond activation. He trained as a postdoctoral fellow with Carolyn Bertozzi at UC Berkeley in chemical glycobiology and nanomaterials. Since 2013, he has led his own research lab at UC San Diego focused on developing carbohydrate-based nanomaterials for glycomics platforms and chemical approaches for tailoring glycan interactions at cellular boundaries. Prof. Godula is actively engaged in the development of educational programs in glycoscience at the Glycobiology Research and Training Center at UC San Diego and is a National Coordinator for the newly established NIH National Consortium for Career Development in Glycoscience. He is the recipient of the 2011 NIH Pathway to Independence Award and the 2015 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award. In 2017 he was named Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, Cottrell Scholar, and a New Investigator by the ACS Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering and the ACS Division of Organic Chemistry.

Kristina Klobucar
Graduate Student (Brown Lab), McMaster University

A chemical screen for vancomycin antagonism uncovers probes of the Gram-negative outer membrane

Kristina Klobucar received her Hons BSc in Molecular Biology and Genetics at McMaster University in 2016. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences under the supervision of Dr. Eric Brown in the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster. Her current research interests centre around novel antibacterial drug discovery and targeting the Gram-negative outer membrane, particularly lipopolysaccharide, to potentiate existing antibiotics with poor permeability.

S4E10: March 17, 11 am – 12:30 pm MT | Register here

Christoph Rademacher
Professor, University of Vienna

Application of glycomimetics for the development of topical vaccines

Dr. Christoph Rademacher earned his BSc in Molecular Biotechnology and MSc in Molecular Life Scienceat the University of Lübeck. In 2009, Dr. Rademacher received his doctorate from the same University, where he performed studies under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Thomas Peters in the Department of Chemistry working on virus/carbohydrate interactions using NMR spectroscopy. He then underwent postdoctoral training with Prof. Dr. James C. Paulson at The Scripps Research Institute (USA) in the Department of Chemical Physiology, where he entered the field of glycoimmunology. In December 2011, Dr. Rademacher his appointed at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in the Department of Biomolecular Systems, where he became Emmy-Noether Research Group Leader in June 2012. In 2017, Dr. Rademacher holds an ERC Starting Grant. In 2020 he was appointed full professor at the University of Vienna and the Max F. Perutz Laboratories. His research is focused on the development and application of novel molecular probes to understand the role of carbohydrates in immune cell regulation with a strong emphasis on molecular drug targeting.

Jonny Quirke
Graduate Student (Crich Lab), Wayne State University

Glycosidase and glycosyltransferase transition state stabilization through substrate side chain restriction

Jonny obtained his Bachelor’s in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Oberlin College in 2016, where he worked with Prof. Jason Belitsky on synthesis of eumelanin analogs. Later that year, he joined the Crich group at Wayne State University (moving to University of Georgia in August 2019), where he has been working on both modification of aminoglycoside antibiotics and analysis of transition state stabilization imparted by glycosidases and glycosyltransferases through substrate side chain restriction.

S4E11: March 24, 11 am – 12:30 pm MT | Register here

Nicola Pohl
Professor, Indiana University Bloomington

Title TBA

Bio TBA

Hanna Ostapska
Graduate Student (Sheppard Lab), McGill University

Exopolysaccharides in co-operative biofilm formation by A. fumigatus and P. aeruginosa

Hanna Ostapska received her BSc in Microbiology and Immunology and Medical Sciences at the University of Western Ontario. She is currently working under the supervision of Dr. Don Sheppard at the Research Institute McGill University Health Centre on her doctorate degree in Microbiology and Immunology at McGill University. Hanna is investigating the co-operative biofilm formation between the biofilm forming mold Aspergillus fumigatus and bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa within the cystic fibrosis airways.

S4E12: March 31, 11 am – 12:30 pm MT | Register here

Wade Abbott
Research Scientist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Glyco-enabling tools for study of microbial glycan metabolism in agriculture

Dr. Wade Abbott received his B.Sc. in Biology from Trinity Western University in 1998, and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry under the supervision of Professor Juan Ausió at the University of Victoria in 2005. His first postdoctoral research fellowship was with Professor Alisdair Boraston at the University of Victoria in the molecular basis of carbohydrate interactions (2005-2008), followed by a second appointment with Professor Harry Gilbert at the University of Georgia Complex Carbohydrate Research Centre in metabolic pathways within intestinal bacteria involved in the utilization of complex glycans (2008-2010). In 2011 Dr. Abbott began his independent research career with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at the Lethbridge Research Centre as a Research Scientist. Group research themes include the discovery of carbohydrate active enzymes and metabolic pathways, agricultural glycomics, and carbohydrate-based innovations for the production of food animals.

Daniel Ramirez
Graduate Student (Woo Lab), Harvard University

Engineering a proximity-directed OGT to control O-GlcNAc signaling

Daniel is a 6^th year PhD candidate in the Dr. Christina Woo’s lab in the Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology at Harvard University. He began his work on posttranslational modifications (PTMs) with the Small Ubiquitin Like Modifier (SUMO) and its effect on the Influenza protein NS1’s dimerization and RNA-binding properties in the lab of Dr. German Rosas-Acosta at The University of Texas at El Paso. He continued similar work in structural biology of the yeast SUMO protease Ulp1 for two summers in the lab of Dr. Gunter Blobel at Rockefeller University. In the Woo lab, Daniel is focused on protein engineering of the O-GlcNAc Transferase (OGT) to develop a method to install the PTM O-GlcNAc on specific proteins and glycosites in live cells.

Stay tuned for more speakers in April! Follow us on social media to get our latest announcements:

Past Webinars

Season 1 (April – June 2020)

No. overall	No. in season	Speakers & titles
1	1	Dr. Christopher Cairo, Associate Professor, University of Alberta Inhibitors of human neuraminidase enzymes as probes in glycobiology Mirat Sojitra, Graduate Student, University of Alberta Genetically encoded multivalent liquid glycan array (LiGA)
2	2	Dr. Andrew Lees, Founder and Scientific Director, Fina Biosolutions Simplifying conjugation: ready to conjugate CRM197 carrier protein
3	3	Dr. Robert Woods, Professor, University of Georgia 3D models of glycosylated SARS-CoV-2 protein suggest challenges for vaccine development Dr. Jolene Garber, Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of British Columbia Okanagan Campylobacter jejuni chemotaxis and metabolism of fucose
4	4	Dr. Lori Yang, CEO & CSO, Lectenz Bio Lectenz and GlycoSense: novel tools for glycan detection and analysis
5	5	Dr. Matt Macauley, Assistant Professor, University of Alberta Modulation of microglia by the glycan-binding protein CD33 Carla Eymard, Graduate Students, Institut de recherches cliniques de Montreal From free radical chemistry to novel classes of bioactive modified furanosides
6	6	Dr. Anne Krook, Practical Workplace Advice A guide to non-academic job search
7	7	Dr. Karla Williams, Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia Polysialic acid as a prognostic marker in breast cancer Sadia Rahmani, Graduate Student, Ryerson University O-GlcNAc modification affects clathrin-coated pit assembly and efficiency at the plasma membrane
8	8	Panel Discussion ft. Drs. David Vocadlo, Stephanie White, and Kaley Wilson What I wish I knew: a chat with researchers, patent experts and entrepreneurs
9	9	Dr. Lynne Howell, Professor, The Hospital for Sick Children Exopolysaccharide biosynthesis Dr. Ryan Sweeney, Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Alberta Development of an active site titration reagent for amylases
10	10	Andrew MacIsaac, CEO, Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation Navigating commercial development with API
11	11	Dr. Molly Shoichet, Professor, University of Toronto Polysaccharide hydrogels enable local drug and cell delivery Akay Akohwarien, Research Technician, University of Saskatchewan Designing novel chemical tools to study β-glucocerebrosidase: a relevant biomarker and therapeutic target in Parkinson's Disease
12	12	Sabrina Sassi, TEDx Speaker Leveraging TED to spread your research ideas: how and why researchers are doing it

Season 2 (July – August 2020)

No. overall	No. in season	Speakers & titles
13	1	Dr. Parastoo Azadi, Executive Director, Analytical Services, Complex Carbohydrate Research Centre Glycobiology of SARS-CoV2 and its implications for vaccine development Dr. Supriya Dey, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Harvard University Programmable one-pot synthesis of heparin and heparin-related anticoagulants
14	2	Dr. Robert Ben, Professor, University of Ottawa Improving the efficacy of modern cellular therapies Dr. François Le Mauff, Post-Doctoral Fellow, McGill University Structural and biochemical characterization of the exopolysaccharide deacetylase Agd3 required for aspergillus fumigatus biofilm formation
15	3	Dr. David Pamer, Professor, University of Saskatchewan Writing an effective grant proposal
16	4	Dr. David Kwan, Assistant Professor, Concordia University A set of chemical biology tools to probe and inhibit cellular glycosyltransferases Shermaine Sy, B.Sc, University of Alberta Development of a bead-based assay for ABO antibody detection: creating a new tool for the clinical laboratory
17	5	Drs. Kate Pratt and Jonathon Simmons, Academic Success Centre, University of Alberta A workshop for scientific writers
18	6	Dr. Chris Phenix, Assistant Professor, University of Saskatchewan Chemical tools for studying glucosidase activity in complex biological samples F. Ifthiha Mohideen, Graduate Student, Concordia University An engineered in vitro enzymatic pathway for the anticancer anthracycline deoxysugars: TDP-L-acosamine and TDP-L-daunosamine
19	7	Dr. Rebecca Davis, Associate Professor, University of Manitoba Computational approaches for designing small molecule inhibitors
20	8	Dr. Robert Britton, Professor, Simon Fraser University De novo synthesis of nucleoside analogues for medicinal chemistry purposes Dr. Kristen Low, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Bioprospecting CAZymes from intestinal microbiomes for the tailored degradation of non-starch dietary polysaccharides

Season 3 (September – December 2020)

No. overall	No. in season	Speakers & titles
21	1	Dr. Lara Mahal, Professor, University of Alberta Exploring the roles of glycosylation in infection and immunity Dr. Peter Rahfeld, Research Associate, University of British Columbia From gut to blood: how to make universal donor blood
22	2	Dr. Mary Cloninger, Professor, Montana State University Lactose-functionalized dendrimers and dendritic polyglycerols for binding to galectin-3 Dr. Pumtiwitt McCarthy, Associate Professor, Morgan State University Bacterial capsule polymerases as tools to improve human health
23	3	Dr. Warren Wakarchuk, Professor, University of Alberta Protein engineering of 21st century drugs through the application of synthetic biology Dr. Landon Edgar, Post-doctoral fellow, Scripps Research Invigorating T cells through carbohydrate editing
24	4	Dr. Theresa M. Reineke, Professor, University of Minnesota Glycopolymers promote in vivo and ex vivo delivery of functional nucleic acids Dr. Jodi Hadden-Perilla, Assistant Professor, University of Delaware The fuzzy boundaries of carbohydrate binding sites
25	5	Dr. Mark Nitz, Professor, University of Toronto Exploring a low affinity probe for the biofilm-associated poly-N-acetylglycosamine exopolysaccharide Dr. Sandra Irmisch, Research Associate, University of British Columbia A novel anti-diabetic compound from plants: biosynthesis, gene discovery, and metabolic engineering of montbretin A
26	6	Dr. Mingdi Yan, Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell Carbohydrate-conjugated fluorescence turn-on azide probes for imaging cells and bacteria Dr. Jessica Kramer, Assistant Professor, University of Utah Synthetic mucins: from new chemical routes to engineered cells
27	7	Dr. David Vocadlo, Professor, Simon Fraser University Fluorescence-quenched substrates for monitoring glycoside hydrolase activities in mammalian cells Dr. Simonetta Sipione, Professor, University of Alberta Gangliosides in neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation

Season 4 (January – April 2021)

No. overall	No. in season	Speakers & titles
28	1	Dr. Geert-Jan Boons, Professor, University of Georgia Probing receptor and co-receptor specificities of coronaviruses using chemo-enzymatic synthesis and glycoarray technology Dr. Hien Nguyen, Professor, Wayne State University Discovery of sulfated glycopolymers as potent inhibitors of heparanase and SARS-CoV-2
29	2	Dr. Jennifer Kohler, Associate Professor, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Intestinal fucose, in sickness and in health Catherine Alex, Graduate Student, University of Missouri-St. Louis Methodologies for stereocontrolled mannosylation with acidic and/or aminosugars
30	3	Dr. Jia Niu, Assistant Professor, Boston College A general approach to early-stage O-sulfation of carbohydrates and peptides Erum Razvi, Graduate Student, SickKids Hostpial Identifying the role of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa PelA hydrolase in Pel polysaccharide biosynthesis
31	4	Dr. Chantelle Capicciotti, Assistant Professor, Queen's University Glycan remodelling with chemical tools to probe glycan-protein interactions Jiayi Li, Graduate Student, Wayne State University Phenanthroline-catalyzed glycosylation: expansion of substrate scope and investigation of mechanism
32	5	Dr. John Hanover, Chief, Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology, NIDDK at National Institutes of Health O-GlcNAc and Disease Matthew Deen, Graduate Student, Simon Fraser University A light in the darkness: GBA1-FQ6 a new tool for studying glucocerebrosidase a Parkinson’s disease associated glycoside hydrolase
33	6	Dr. Sabine Flitsch, Professor, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology Synthetic and analytical tools for glycobiology Shaochi Wang, Graduate Student, University of Maryland Development of colorimetric and fluorometric oligosaccharide probes enabling high-throughput screening for glycosyl hydrolase enzymes
34	7	Dr. Charlie Fehl, Assistant Professor, Wayne State University Real-time chemical tools for dynamic O-GlcNAc glycoprotein functions Dr. Adam Forman, Post-doctoral Researcher, University of Toronto Development of substrates to characterize PgaB, a hydrolase involved in the synthesis of the biofilm exopolysaccharide dPNAG
35	8	Dr. Kelly McNagny, Professor, University of British Columbia CD34-type sialomucins: general regulators of cell adhesion and migration and targets for cancer immunotherapy Dr. Jicheng Zhang, Post-doctoral Researcher, Wayne State University Trisaccharides with specific sulfation sequences in modulating heparanase activity