Seminars
Room 217D - Edifício Departamental
Add to Calendar 2018-07-04 12:00:00 2025-11-25 12:33:06 Angelina Palma | 8th LAQV-UCIBIO Conference Cycle ANGELINA PALMA UCIBIO, FCT NOVA At last, functional glycomics - the promise of glycan arrays for deciphering microbial-host interactions Chaired by Maria João Romão     Abstract Glycans are present in all living cells and organisms, and their roles are highly diverse, representing a largely undiscovered resource for biological functions as well as for novel therapeutic opportunities. Functional glycomics is a broad and emerging scientific discipline focused on defining the structures and functional roles of glycans in biological systems. The identification of specific glycan-recognition determinants by glycan-binding proteins using glycan microarrays is providing insights into how glycans function in recognition and signaling within an organism and with microbes and pathogens. Microbes have evolved different strategies to interact with the host using glycan recognition. For example, pathogens such as Influenza viruses use their hemagglutinin to bind glycan receptors at the surface of the host epithelium and cause infection. Conversely, glycan-recognition by commensal gut bacteria promotes a dynamic crosstalk with the host that results in nutrient and caloric extraction from the diet, immune system development, and prevention of infection by pathogens. In this communication, I will give an overview of glycan microarrays, with prospective challenges in functional glycomics, focusing on their application to understand pathogen infection and beneficial microbial-host interactions.     Short Bio Angelina S. Palma is an Assistant Researcher (FCT-Investigator) at UCIBIO, Department of Chemistry, FCT-NOVA. She graduated in Biochemistry in 2001 at University of Algarve and completed the PhD in Biochemistry in 2007 at ITQB-NOVA. Angelina spent 4 years abroad, first as a visiting scholar (2004-2005), and thereafter as a post-doctoral fellow (2007-2009), in the Glycosciences Laboratory of Prof. Ten Feizi at Imperial College London. Here, Angelina developed pioneering work in designer glycan microarray approaches and in the setting-up of a state-of-the-art glycan-microarray system to study recognition systems of biological and biomedical impact (e.g, in immune-function and virus-host interactions). In the end of 2009, Angelina returned to Portugal and joined the protein crystallography group of Prof. Maria João Romão at FCT-NOVA. Here, she directed glycan-microarray driven research in conjunction with structural biology approaches to study endogenous and microbial glycan-recognition systems. Since 2009, Angelina is an Honorary Researcher at Imperial College London. In 2013, Angelina was awarded with a five-year Starting Grant under the FCT Investigator call. Since then, she established a line of research in Functional Glycobiology at UCIBIO and set-up a glycan microarray laboratory with specialized equipment, supported by 2 project grants from FCT. Angelina is now focusing her research on combining glycome-based microarrays with complementary methodologies in structural biology, to study human microbiome-host interactions and immune recognition for cancer diagnosis and therapy (research recently funded by FCT and Siamab Therapeutics).   Room 217D - Edifício Departamental UCIBIO info@simbiose.com UTC public
AP

ANGELINA PALMA
UCIBIO, FCT NOVA

At last, functional glycomics - the promise of glycan arrays for deciphering microbial-host interactions

Chaired by Maria João Romão

 

 

Abstract

Glycans are present in all living cells and organisms, and their roles are highly diverse, representing a largely undiscovered resource for biological functions as well as for novel therapeutic opportunities. Functional glycomics is a broad and emerging scientific discipline focused on defining the structures and functional roles of glycans in biological systems. The identification of specific glycan-recognition determinants by glycan-binding proteins using glycan microarrays is providing insights into how glycans function in recognition and signaling within an organism and with microbes and pathogens. Microbes have evolved different strategies to interact with the host using glycan recognition. For example, pathogens such as Influenza viruses use their hemagglutinin to bind glycan receptors at the surface of the host epithelium and cause infection. Conversely, glycan-recognition by commensal gut bacteria promotes a dynamic crosstalk with the host that results in nutrient and caloric extraction from the diet, immune system development, and prevention of infection by pathogens. In this communication, I will give an overview of glycan microarrays, with prospective challenges in functional glycomics, focusing on their application to understand pathogen infection and beneficial microbial-host interactions.  

 

Short Bio

Angelina S. Palma is an Assistant Researcher (FCT-Investigator) at UCIBIO, Department of Chemistry, FCT-NOVA. She graduated in Biochemistry in 2001 at University of Algarve and completed the PhD in Biochemistry in 2007 at ITQB-NOVA.

Angelina spent 4 years abroad, first as a visiting scholar (2004-2005), and thereafter as a post-doctoral fellow (2007-2009), in the Glycosciences Laboratory of Prof. Ten Feizi at Imperial College London. Here, Angelina developed pioneering work in designer glycan microarray approaches and in the setting-up of a state-of-the-art glycan-microarray system to study recognition systems of biological and biomedical impact (e.g, in immune-function and virus-host interactions). In the end of 2009, Angelina returned to Portugal and joined the protein crystallography group of Prof. Maria João Romão at FCT-NOVA. Here, she directed glycan-microarray driven research in conjunction with structural biology approaches to study endogenous and microbial glycan-recognition systems. Since 2009, Angelina is an Honorary Researcher at Imperial College London.

In 2013, Angelina was awarded with a five-year Starting Grant under the FCT Investigator call. Since then, she established a line of research in Functional Glycobiology at UCIBIO and set-up a glycan microarray laboratory with specialized equipment, supported by 2 project grants from FCT. Angelina is now focusing her research on combining glycome-based microarrays with complementary methodologies in structural biology, to study human microbiome-host interactions and immune recognition for cancer diagnosis and therapy (research recently funded by FCT and Siamab Therapeutics).

 

Angelina Palma | 8th LAQV-UCIBIO Conference Cycle