Research
We study glycans - complex sugar molecules that cover the surface of every living cell. Our aim is to unravel how human glycans are recognized by the the immune system and the microbiota. This knowledge allows us to develop glycan-based molecules to detect and treat diseases like inflammation and cancer.
Cellular glycoengineering
We employ gene editing tools to stably engineer sets of ER/Golgi glycosyltransferases expressed in human cell lines. This allows us to control the glycan features expressed by a cell. We focus on the engineering of sialoglycans.
Glycoprotein production
We use glycoengineered cell lines to biosynthesize recombinant glycoproteins with defined sialoglycan structures to enable binding assays and to test their biological interactions and functions for example in immune cells and bacteria.
Glycan recognition
Using glycoengineered cell lines and glycoproteins, we probe the binding specificities of glycan-binding proteins. Our current projects focus on the Siglecs and on other sialoglycan-binding proteins from the immune system and the microbiota.
Using chemical biology tools, we introduce new functionalities into glycoproteins rendering them into activity-based probes or signaling molecules. We aim to apply these molecules in complex biological environments like the human gut.