Summary
After obtaining my first degree and PhD from the University of Leeds, my postdoctoral research at Imperial College London on nematode parasite glycosylation laid the foundations of high sensitivity mass spectrometric analysis of complex mixtures of oligosaccharides which are now widely exploited in glycomic analysis. In recognition of this work I was awarded a Young Scientist Award by the organizing and program committees of the XIVth International Symposium on Glycoconjugates, Zurich, Switzerland. This was one of seven awarded at this biennial conference and the only one to a British scientist. My more recent research has encompassed the structural analysis of glycoconjugates from diverse biological origins ranging from bacteria to humans including the analysis of several cancer derived cell lines. I was appointed to a lectureship in 2002 at Imperial College London and that year I was invited by the International Steering Committee of the Consortium for Functional Glycomics (CFG) to serve as Director of its Analytical Glycotechnology Core when this facility was re-located from San Diego to Imperial College as recommended by the CFG’s International Advisory Board. The CFG is an NIH-funded large research initiative aiming to understand the role of carbohydrate-protein interactions in cell-cell communication. Seven scientific cores provide resources to the international scientific community. The Analytical Glycotechnology Core, which is the only core to be based outside the USA, is involved in glycomic profiling of mouse and human tissues and performing carbohydrate structure analysis on carbohydrate binding protein ligands and specific mouse and human cell lines. I am also a member of the Steering Committee of the EuroCarbDB consortium which is funded by the European Commission 6th Framework Programme. This consortium aims to develop and distribute web-based carbohydrate data bases and I lead the Imperial College component which is responsible for MS activities.