synBIOcarb · Synthetic biology of carbohydrate-binding proteins: engineering protein-carbohydrate interactions for diagnostics and cell targeting

The aim of the Initial Training Network will be to train 15 early stage researchers in the emerging field of synthetic glycobiology, equipping them with the skills needed for future careers in the medical technologies sector.Every living cell is covered in a coating of complex carbohydrates known as the glycocalyx. Anything that approaches the cell membrane must first descend through this forest of carbohydrates. Interactions between carbohydrates and lectins (carbohydrate-binding proteins) play essential roles in cell adhesion and endocytosis. Our growing understanding of glycoscience, and the advent of chemical and synthetic biology methodologies, presents an opportunity to redesign, synthesise and exploit glycocalyx and lectin components for diverse analytical, diagnostic and targeted therapeutic applications: this is the field of Synthetic Glycobiology.The ESF-funded report, “A Roadmap for Glycosicence in Europe”, has highlighted the importance of glycoscience to the European bioeconomy. The European glycomics market is growing rapidly (>10% growth p.a.). There is an urgent need to train ESRs with the scientific and entrepreneurial skills required to enable European industry to exploit this rapidly growing market.The synBIOcarb ETN brings together a diverse team of chemists, structural biologists, biophysicists, cell biologists and protein engineers who are pioneering the development of Synthetic Glycobiology, and four SMEs that are leading industrial innovation in glycoscience and protein engineering. Together, we will train 15 ESRs in the essential enabling technologies that underpin the development and exploitation of glycoscience: glycoconjugate synthesis; lectin engineering; biophysical interaction measurements; cell biology; analytical device technologies; entrepreneurial and transferable skills.