Chemical and Biochemical Approaches to Deciphering Glycan Functions

Advances in carbohydrate chemistry and glycobiology have revealed diverse roles and functions of glycans in a number of important physiological and disease processes. Yet a vast chemical and functional space of glycans remains to be explored, and we have just begun to decode the glycomes of living species. The main goal of the Gordon Research Conference on Carbohydrates is to bring together an outstanding and diverse group of scientists who work at the frontiers of basic and translational glycoscience to discuss their recent work and to explore the next frontiers in the field. This meeting will emphasize the interplay of chemistry, biology, biotechnology and medicine with a focus on molecular approaches to deciphering glycan functions. The meeting provides a unique platform and a collegial environment to foster the interactions among graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, junior and established scientists to discuss the latest findings and to exchange ideas in this multidisciplinary field. The scientific sessions will cover diverse areas of the field, including fundamental research in synthetic and analytic carbohydrate chemistry, recent developments of enabling technologies for functional glycomics, the molecular understanding of protein-carbohydrate interactions, the development of carbohydrate-based therapeutic agents and glycoconjugate vaccines, and the exploration of specific glycan recognition for bio-medicine. The core of this Carbohydrates GRC will consist of about 27 invited talks and 20-25 short talks (selected from abstracts), along with highly interactive poster sessions. In addition, the inaugural Carbohydrate Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) will be held just prior to the Carbohydrates GRC. The Carbohydrate GRS will provide a collegial environment for a growing number of younger scientists (graduate students, postdocs, junior faculty members etc) in glycoscience to disseminate scientific information related to the field, establish scientific network, discuss potential collaborations, and gain confidence towards participation and contribution to the dialogue in the following GRC.