GlyGen Webinar Series

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The GlyGen project organizes public webinars on diverse topics, ranging from bioinformatics databases to new glycomics analysis techniques producing interesting data. Recordings of the talks are released on the GlyGen YouTube channel.

June 03, 2025 - Noël Burtt

Picture of Noël Burtt, Ph.D.
Noël Burtt, Ph.D.

The Common Fund Data Ecosystem: a unique model for a resource of resources for the biomedical community

Noël Burtt, Ph.D.

Director, Operations & Development, Diabetes Research & Knowledge Portals in Medical and Population Genetics Program and Metabolism Program Broad Institute

The Common Fund Data Ecosystem is a unique model for a resource of resources. Currently, the program combines 18 data resources and 5 centers to drive scientific discovery across biomedical research by making data, metadata, tools, and analytical results easy to access, use, and interpret. We will explore the ways members of the GlySpace community can navigate the ecosystem.

Zoom Meeting Details

Date: Tuesday June 03, 10am ET

Meeting link: https://gwu-edu.zoom.us/j/91498498310

Meeting ID: 91498498310

Add to Calendar: Google | Outlook

Recorded Talk Video: TBA

Link: https://www.broadinstitute.org/bios/no%C3%ABl-burtt

May 13, 2025 - Issaku Yamada

Picture of Issaku Yamada, PhD
Issaku Yamada, PhD

Bridging Glycan Data: Integrating Structures, Notations and Knowledge with Semantic Web Technologies

Issaku Yamada, Ph.D.

Head of Laboratory at Noguchi Institute

In the realm of glycoscience, the diversity of glycan notations and data formats poses a significant challenge to interoperability and knowledge integration. This talk introduces a suite of tools—including GlycanFormatConverter, MolWURCS, PDB2Glycan, SugarDrawer and GlycanBuilder—developed to unify text notations and support visualization, extraction, and semantic annotation of glycan structures. By leveraging Semantic Web technologies, we aim to enhance the accessibility and integration of glycan-related data across research platforms and international databases.

Zoom Meeting Details

Date: Tuesday May 13, 10am ET

Meeting link: https://gwu-edu.zoom.us/j/91498498310

Meeting ID: 91498498310

Add to Calendar: Google | Outlook

Recorded Talk Video: TBA

Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/issaku-yamada-809885102/

April 01, 2025 - Zhiyong Lu

Picture of Zhiyong Lu, PhD
Zhiyong Lu, PhD

Biomedical Text Mining for Assisting Literature Retrieval and Curation

Zhiyong Lu, Ph.D.

Senior Investigator, National Library of Medicine,

NIH Professor of Computer Science (Adjunct), UIUC

In this talk, I will present our work on developing large-scale, machine-learning based tools for better accessing and analyzing scientific information in the biomedical literature. Moreover, I will demonstrate their uses in some real-world applications such as improving PubMed searches (Fiorini et al., Nature Biotechnology 2018), supporting literature data curation (Wei et al., Nucleic Acids Research, 2023; Allot et al., Nature Genetics 2023), and taming COVID-19 pandemic paper tsunami (Chen et al., Nature 2000).

Zoom Meeting Details

Date: Tuesday Apr 01, 10am ET

Meeting link: https://gwu-edu.zoom.us/j/91498498310

Meeting ID: 91498498310

Add to Calendar: Google | Outlook

Recorded Talk Video: TBA

Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drzhiyonglu/

March 11, 2025 - Nicholas M. Riley

Picture of Nicholas M. Riley, Ph.D.
Nicholas M. Riley, Ph.D.

Tools To Explore Complex Glycoproteomics Data

Nicholas M. Riley, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemistry, University of Washington


Glycopeptide tandem MS spectra are complex and often challenging to interpret, even with modern search engines that have significantly improved the ability to assign glycopeptide identifications. Here I will discuss several strategies our group is developing to improve our data analysis. I will also highlight several examples of how these tools have subsequently helped us refine the methods we use to interrogate the glycoproteome.

Zoom Meeting Details

Date: Tuesday Mar 11, 10am ET

Meeting link: https://gwu-edu.zoom.us/j/91498498310

Meeting ID: 91498498310

Add to Calendar: Google | Outlook

Recorded Talk Video: TBA

Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-m-riley/

February 04, 2025 - Parastoo Azadi

Picture of Parastoo Azadi, PH.D.
Parastoo Azadi, PH.D.

Research, Collaboration, Service and Training at the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center

Parastoo Azadi, Ph.D.

Associate Director of CCRC - Service & Training

Executive Technical Director, Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens


The Complex Carbohydrate Research Center (CCRC)’s service and training laboratory integrates research, collaboration, and training to develop tools for the structural characterization of glycoconjugates, including polysaccharides, glycoproteins, and glycolipids, using MS and NMR. These tools are shared with the broader scientific community through collaborative efforts and training programs. The center's mission includes initiating new collaborations and providing comprehensive training to cultivate the next generation of glycoscientists.

Zoom Meeting Details

Date: Tuesday Feb 04, 10am ET

Meeting link: https://gwu-edu.zoom.us/j/91498498310

Meeting ID: 91498498310

Add to Calendar: Google | Outlook

Recorded Talk Video: TBA

Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parastoo-azadi-57a06133/

January 28, 2025 - Zhiyong Lu

Picture of Zhiyong Lu, PhD
Zhiyong Lu, PhD

Cancelled: Biomedical Text Mining for Assisting Literature Retrieval and Curation

Zhiyong Lu, Ph.D.

Senior Investigator, National Library of Medicine,

NIH Professor of Computer Science (Adjunct), UIUC


In this talk, I will present our work on developing large-scale, machine-learning based tools for better accessing and analyzing scientific information in the biomedical literature. Moreover, I will demonstrate their uses in some real-world applications such as improving PubMed searches (Fiorini et al., Nature Biotechnology 2018), supporting literature data curation (Wei et al., Nucleic Acids Research, 2023; Allot et al., Nature Genetics 2023), and taming COVID-19 pandemic paper tsunami (Chen et al., Nature 2000).

Zoom Meeting Details

Date: Tuesday Jan 28, 10am ET

Meeting link: https://gwu-edu.zoom.us/j/91498498310

Meeting ID: 91498498310

Add to Calendar: Google | Outlook

Recorded Talk Video: TBA

Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drzhiyonglu/

December 10, 2024 - John Cipollo

Picture of John Cipollo, PhD
John Cipollo, PhD

Mass Spectrometry Driven Glycoconjugate Analysis: Structure – Function Relationships in Vaccines and Infectious Disease

John Cipollo, Ph.D.

Food and Drug Administration Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research


Mass spectrometry can provide a power suite of analytical approaches to investigate glycoconjugate structure. Presented in this talk, it is demonstrated how informatics, structural examination, modeling and mass spectrometry have been used in the vaccine and infectious disease space. Important immune recognition events are discussed as revealed by structural analysis and follow-on biochemical analysis.

Zoom Meeting Details

Date: Tuesday Dec 10, 10am ET

Meeting link: https://gwu-edu.zoom.us/j/91498498310

Meeting ID: 91498498310

Add to Calendar: Google | Outlook

Recorded Talk Video: TBA

Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-cipollo-94485154/

November 19, 2024 - Elisa Fadda

Picture of Elisa Fadda, PhD
Elisa Fadda, PhD

Restoring Protein Glycosylation with GlycoShape

Elisa Fadda, Ph.D.

University of Southampton


The introduction of machine learning (ML) for protein structure prediction, awarded with the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, revolutionized structural biology, boosting our ability to source and resolve protein structures, and broadening the potential for therapeutic discovery. One limitation affecting all ML-derived structures is the lack post-translational modifications, which are key to the correct folding, structural stability, and function of the underlying protein. In this webinar I will introduce GlycoShape (https://glycoshape.org and https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-024-02464-7), a unique OA online resource that allows users to rapidly and easily restore glycoproteins from ML, from the Protein Data Bank, or own, to their native state by adding the missing glycan 3D information in seconds.

Zoom Meeting Details

Date: Tuesday Nov 19, 10am ET

Meeting link: https://gwu-edu.zoom.us/j/91498498310

Meeting ID: 91498498310

Add to Calendar: Google | Outlook

Recorded Talk Video: TBA

Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisa-fadda-a012b194/?originalSubdomain=ie

Slides: Elisa_Fadda_Slides

October 22, 2024 - Daniel Kolarich

Picture of Daniel Kolarich, PhD
Daniel Kolarich, PhD

Towards understanding the role of glycosylation in evolution and stem cell biology

Daniel Kolarich, Ph.D.
Griffith University Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics


This webinar will cover two major themes of our current research: First, the use of glycomics to understand how glycosylation features have evolved in vertebrae will demonstrate the importance to capture glycosylation features to decipher the actual glycosylation events, and second,  the role glycosylation of key stem cell cytokines plays for erythropoiesis. These examples will highlight the importance to integrated different -omics technologies for deciphering the diverse roles of functional glycan involvement.

Recorded Talk Video: YouTube

Link: LinkedIn

September 17, 2024 - Olga Gornik

Olga Gornik, PhD

N-glycosylation in diabetes

Olga Gornik, Ph.D.
University of Zagreb


The webinar will provide an overview of our research on N-glycosylation of plasma proteins in diabetes. It will present our findings on glycan structures as potential diagnostic markers for predicting, diagnosing, and monitoring various diabetes subtypes. Additionally, the lecture will also cover the genetic regulation of glycosylation, focusing on specific proteins like immunoglobulin G and complement component 3 .

Recorded Talk Video: YouTube

Link: LinkedIn

May 7, 2024 - Lara Mahal

Lara Mahal, PhD

Adding a little sugar: how incorporating glycomics into multi'omic analysis reveals new biological insights

Lara Mahal, Ph.D.
University of Alberta


Glycosylation is an often underappreciated aspect of biology and is rarely incorporated into multi'omic systems biology.  Our laboratory pioneered lectin microarray technology and has been using this method to integrate glycomic data into large multi'omic datasets. Here, I will discuss some of our latest work showcasing the importance of including the glycome.


Recorded Talk Video: TBA

Link: https://apps.ualberta.ca/directory/person/lkmahal

April 9, 2024 - Kristian Axelsen

Kristian Axelsen, PhD

Glycobiology in the Rhea knowledgebase

Kristian Axelsen, Ph.D.
SIB-Rhea
Switzerland


Rhea is a FAIR resource of expert curated biochemical and transport reactions described using the ChEBI ontology of small molecules, and is the reference vocabulary for enzyme annotation in UniProtKB. In this talk I will give a general presentation of the Rhea database, and also explore the curation of glycan metabolism in Rhea and UniProt, and opportunities to improve interoperability with GlyGen and other glycobiology community standards.


Recorded Talk Video: TBA

Link: https://www.sib.swiss/people/Kristian.Axelsen

March 12, 2024 - Juan Antonio Vizcaino

Juan Antonio Vizcaino, PhD

The PRIDE database and ProteomeXchange: Making Proteomics data FAIR

Juan Antonio Vizcaino, Ph.D.
EMBL-EBI
UK


The ProteomeXchange consortium has standardized data submission and dissemination of public MS proteomics data worldwide. ProteomeXchange resources are committed to comply with the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Re-usable) principles, support reproducible research and represent the state-of-the-art in proteomics with regards to open data practices.

Within ProteomeXchange, the PRIDE database at the European Bioinformatics Institute is the most used resource worldwide, accounting for ~80% of all submitted datasets. The perceived reliability of PRIDE and the rest of the ProteomeXchange resources has enabled an unprecedented increase in the amount of proteomics data in the public domain, which is now comparable to other omics fields such as transcriptomics.

One concrete example of data re-use is the PTMeXchange project. In PTMeXchange, we are reanalyzing public enriched datasets in PTMs (post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation). The main aim is to disseminate high-quality PTM data to UniProt, linking it to the original mass spectrometry evidence in PRIDE and/or other ProteomeXchange resources. The overall aim is to make PTM data FAIR. The same framework could be used for glycoproteomics data in the future.


Link: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/people/person/juan-vizcaino/

February 27, 2024 - Kiyoko Aoki-Kinoshita

Kiyoko Aoki-Kinoshita, PhD

Glycoinformatics: past, present and future

Kiyoko Aoki-Kinoshita, Ph.D.
Soka University, Tokyo
Japan


Over the last twenty years, the field of glycoinformatics has expanded enormously: starting with just a handful of databases, there are now a plethora of databases, Web tools, software packages and Web portals.  We can expect that technologies will continue to develop; thus, it will be important to be able to find our way through these informatics resources.  Recollections, current trends, and future thoughts on where glycoinformatics may lead us will be discussed.


Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiyokof/

Slides: Slides in Prezi

January 30, 2024 - Clement Potel

Clement Potel, PhD

Deep quantitative glycoproteomics reveals gut microbiome induced remodeling of the brain glycoproteome

Clement Potel, PhD
EMBL Heidelberg
Germany


Methods capable of quantifying glycosylation dynamics are essential to start unraveling the biological functions of protein glycosylation. Here we introduce an approach that combines high-throughput sample preparation, high-sensitivity detection, and precise multiplexed quantification of protein glycosylation. We applied our methodology to characterize surface-exposed glycoforms, identify glycosites driving tissue-specificity and were able to demonstrate that the presence of a defined gut microbiota resulted in extensive remodeling of the brain glycoproteome when compared to that of germ-free animals.


Link: https://www.embl.org/groups/savitski/

December 12, 2023 - Daniel Bojar

Daniel Bojar, PhD

From Complexity to Clarity: Algorithmic Exploration of Glycans

Daniel Bojar, PhD
University of Gothenburg
Sweden


Navigating the intricate world of glycans requires innovative approaches to untangle their complexity and reveal their functional roles. By merging advanced computational techniques with cutting-edge glycoscience research, we have developed a set of innovative tools that provide deeper insights into glycan properties and functions, shedding light on their roles in health and disease. As will be presented in the talk, we combined these approaches in our hub program, glycowork, including glycan sequence analysis, glycomics data analysis, biosynthetic analyses, and many more.


Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-bojar-418647b2/

November 28, 2023 - Nadine Samara

Nadine Samara, PhD

Evolution of the diverse substrate specificities of mucin-type O-glycosyltransferases (GalNAc-Ts) from pathogen to host

Nadine Samara, PhD
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)


N-acetylgalactosaminyl transferases (GalNAc-Ts) are conserved from protozoa to mammals and catalyze the transfer of N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) to Ser or Thr on protein substrates to initiate mucin-type O-glycosylation, an abundant and complex post-translational modification that regulates protein stability, structure, and function. Mucin-type O-glycosylation influences the rigidity of a cyst wall that encapsulates the infectious and currently untreatable bradyzoites of the protozoan pathogen Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii). Our studies highlight GalNAc-T evolution in substrate recognition and enzyme function from protozoan pathogen to mammalian host and lay a framework for specifically inhibiting T. gondii-GalNAc-Ts in toxoplasmosis.


Link: https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/research/conducted-at-nidcr/intramural-research-labs/structural-biochemistry-unit

October 31, 2023 - Stacia R. Engel

Stacia R. Engel, PhD

The Awesome Power of SGD

Stacia R. Engel, PhD
Department of Medicine
Stanford University


The Saccharomyces Genome Database (SGD, https://www.yeastgenome.org) is the community resource for the most widely used scientific model organism, the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The SGD project provides encyclopedic information about the yeast genome and its genes, proteins, and other encoded features, including the reference genome sequence and official S. cerevisiae genetic nomenclature, all gathered and maintained through high-quality manual curation of experimental results as reported in peer-reviewed scientific literature. This complex collection of information is integrated with a variety of bioinformatic tools, a powerful query engine, a vast data warehouse, and a rich genome browser, then presented to users via a series of locus summary pages, in order to facilitate experimental design and analysis, allowing productive discovery of new biological details.


Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/staciaengel/

September 26, 2023 - Marissa Maciej-Hulme

Marissa Maciej-Hulme, PhD

Pushing new frontiers in GAGomics

Marissa Maciej-Hulme, PhD
Department of Pharmacy
Oslo Metropolitan University Centre
Oslo, Norway


Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are long linear mammalian polysaccharides synthesized on select protein cores that play a plethora of roles in development, homeostasis, and disease. GAGomics seeks to profile GAGs using mass spectrometry and bioinformatics for the identification of significant structures as diagnostics and treatment targets. Dr. Marissa Maciej-Hulme will explore the current status of GAGomics as well as future directions of the field.

Recorded Talk Video: YouTube

Link: LinkedIn

August 22, 2023 - Manfred Wuhrer

Manfred Wuhrer, PhD

Mass spectrometry glycomics of tissues and biofluids

Manfred Wuhrer, PhD
Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics
Leiden University Medical Centre
Leiden, Netherlands


Glycans play key roles in the etiology of many diseases. They shape cell-cell interactions and are entry points for pathogens. Mass spectrometry is emerging as the key technology assessing glycans in human specimens such as blood, saliva and biopsies. My laboratory develops mass spectrometry workflows which we apply for assessing the glycomic dimension of human diseases, with the aim of obtaining therapeutic and diagnostic leads for improving health.


Recorded Talk Video: YouTube

Link: Manfred Wuhrer (University Leiden)

April 18, 2023 - Harry Brumer

Harry Brumer, PhD

CAZypedia – A Living Encyclopedia of Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes

Harry Brumer, PhD
Department of Chemistry
The University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC, Canada


CAZypedia was initiated in 2007 to create a comprehensive, living encyclopedia of the carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) and associated carbohydrate-binding modules. CAZypedia is closely connected with the actively curated CAZy database, which provides a sequence-based foundation for the biochemical, mechanistic, and structural characterization of these diverse proteins. Now comprising over 200 individual Curator Approved family pages, , CAZypedia is a successful example of dynamic, community-driven, and expert-based biocuration.


Link: CAZypedia

March 28, 2023 - Rebekah L. Gundry

Rebekah L. Gundry, PhD

Expanding our View of the Cardiac Surfaceome: New Bioinformatic Tools and Technologies for Mapping Glycoproteins and Glycans from Small Sample Sizes

Rebekah L. Gundry, PhD
Department of Cellular & Integrative Physiology, College of Medicine
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE, USA


Cell surface glycoproteins and glycans play critical roles in a range of biological functions and disease processes. However, the lack of facile methods for sample preparation and data analysis has historically posed major challenges to their characterization. This presentation will describe the new CellSurfer and glyPAQ platforms for robust and rapid mass spectrometry-based analysis of cell surface glycoproteins and glycans and their applications to the human heart.


Link: Lab webpage

February 07, 2023 - Christopher M. West

Christopher M. West, PhD

A brief excursion through the glycobiology of unicellular eukaryotes

Christopher M. West, PhD
Complex Carbohydrate Research Center
University of Georgia
Athens, GA, USA


Unicellular eukaryotes have evolved diverse adaptations to many earthly environments, including as pathogens of human and plant hosts. Their glycosylation is often similarly varied, and the extant record reflects a combination of evolutionary history and contributions to fitness that are only beginning to be explored in detail. I will introduce select aspects of the glycomics, glycogenomics and glycobiology of the soil-borne amoebozoan Dictyostelium discoideum, the apicomplexan human pathogen Toxoplasma gondii, and the agent for Chagas disease Trypanosoma cruzi.

Recording of the Talk: YouTube

Link: Lab webpage

December 06, 2022 - Lingjun Li

Lingjun Li, PhD

Advancing Glycomics and Glycoproteomics via MultiplexedChemical Tagging Technology

Lingjun Li, PhD
School of Pharmacy and Department of Chemistry
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI, USA


Glycosylation is one of the most important and most complex protein post-translational modifications. Alterations in glycomic profiles have been linked to various diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and cardiovascular problems. Thus, new methods are needed for quantitative analysis of glycans to facilitate the elucidation of their diverse functional roles in human diseases.Advances in mass spectrometry (MS)-based glycoproteomics and glycomics are increasingly enabling qualitative and quantitative approaches for site-specific structural analysis of protein glycosylation. In this presentation, Iwill describe our recent efforts in developing both MS1 and MS2-based relative quantification strategies for glycomic and glycoproteomicanalysis ofbiological samples. Several cost-effective and novel isobariclabeling reagents will be highlighted for their utility in quantitativeglycanand glycopeptideanalyses ofhuman serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples.


Recording of the Talk: YouTube

Link: Lab webpage