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Glycoscience Center of Research Excellence

WHAT WE DO

GlyCORE supports investigators in glycoscience through direct funding of selected research projects, establishes mentors for early career investigators, supports the recruitment of new faculty in glycoscience, and develops local and regional meetings for investigators to discuss their work.

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    What is Glycoscience?

    Carbohydrates are one of the four major classes of biomolecules and play a central role in almost all biological systems, from their central role in energy metabolism to roles in cell-cell communication and protein regulation that we are only beginning to understand.

    Sustained and impactful innovation in glycoscience requires a concentration of both specific core research capabilities as well as expertise in the chemistry, biochemistry, and cellular biology of carbohydrates and carbohydrate conjugates.  The University of Mississippi hosts accomplished faculty in glycoscience in a wide variety of disciplines, including glycoside natural products isolation and characterization, glycan analysis, protein-carbohydrate interactions, and physiological responses to protein glycation. Additionally, we have reached a critical concentration at the University of Mississippi of faculty members whose interests intersect with glycoscience from a variety of disciplines. This confluence has presented an opportunity to nurture these interests and develop a core of expertise necessary for the long-term development of institutional excellence in glycoscience, leveraging our unique history and resources in natural products.

    Recognizing the opportunity to contribute to the future of glycoscience research, the University of Mississippi has established the Glycoscience Center of Research Excellence (GlyCORE), a new University-wide NIH COBRE Phase 1 center to study how carbohydrates and carbohydrate-containing molecules affect human health.  GlyCORE supports investigators in glycoscience through direct funding of selected research projects, establishes mentors for early career investigators, supports the recruitment of new faculty in glycoscience, and develops local and regional meetings for investigators to discuss their work. GlyCORE also hosts three central Research Cores to support these investigators with cutting-edge biomedical research tools. Our goal to lower the barriers to entry to glycoscience for researchers across the spectrum of biomedical research is what makes GlyCORE innovative; we do not solely serve the dedicated glycoscience community but rather develop the infrastructure and dedicated expertise necessary to support glycoscience research from various communities.

    In addition to our primary goal of serving The University of Mississippi, GlyCORE seeks to develop, support, and foster glycoscience throughout the Mid-South region (including Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri). We encourage students, faculty, and scientists in the region to contact us regarding potential collaborations, participation in seminars and lecture series, and any other ways in which we can help support and promote glycoscience research at your institution.

    Publication Acknowledgement

    Research reported in this publication was supported by an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number P20GM130460.

    Upcoming Events

    Check out what's going on in the Glycoscience Center for Research Excellence! Join GlyCORE’s mailing list to receive up-to-date news and links to our public events.

    2025 Mid-South Glycoscience Meeting

    Many thanks to the researchers who attended and presented at our annual summer meeting. Your participation and contributions made the event a true success. We were inspired by the breadth and quality of research shared by faculty, staff, and students, and it was encouraging to see the collaborative spirit and new ideas that emerged from our discussions.

    We look forward to continuing these important conversations and building on the momentum generated at this year’s meeting. Please keep an eye out for the official dates of the 2026 Mid-South Glycoscience Meeting, which will be scheduled for Summer 2026. We hope to see many of you there to showcase your latest work and strengthen the connections within our research community.

     


     

     

    Please check back in June of 2026 for information about our next Call for Proposals.

    More coming soon!

    10/30    Boudreau Lab: Tahir Ali - Research Update / Prof. Boudreau - Paper Talk on "Glycogenomics as a mass spectrometry-guided genome-mining method for microbial glycosylated molecules" Kersten, R. D.; et al. PNAS 2013, 110, E4407-E4416

    The Society for Glycobiology 2025 Annual Meeting: Register at https://www.glycobiology.org/annual-meeting

    Meet the Center

    GlyCORE Directory
    Joshua Sharp

    Joshua Sharp

    • Professor of Pharmacology, Research Professor in RIPS, and Affiliated Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
    Karin King Ballering

    Karin King Ballering

    • Project Coordinator
    Bakhtyar Sepehri

    Bakhtyar Sepehri

    • Postdoctoral Research Associate
    Sandeep Misra

    Sandeep Misra

    • Research Associate Professor of Biomolecular Sciences
    Anter Shami

    Anter Shami

    • Senior R&D Chemist
    Gregg Roman

    Gregg Roman

    • Professor of Pharmacology in Biomolecular Sciences and Research Professor in the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences
    John Adams Sabestian

    John Adams Sabestian

    • Research Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Sciences
    Robert Doerksen

    Robert Doerksen

    • Associate Dean of the Graduate School, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Research Professor in the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Affiliate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
    Joshua Bloomekatz

    Joshua Bloomekatz

    • Associate Professor of Biology
    Sasmitha Singh

    Sasmitha Singh

    • Research Associate
    James Stewart

    James Stewart

    • Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Research Associate Professor in the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences
    Paul Boudreau

    Paul Boudreau

    • Assistant Professor of Pharmacognosy and Research Assistant Professor in the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences
    Jing Li

    Jing Li

    • Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Research Assistant Professor in the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences
    Eden Tanner

    Eden Tanner

    • Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Co-Director for the Center for Nano-Bio Interactions
    Cole Stevens

    Cole Stevens

    • Associate Professor of Pharmacognosy and Research Associate Professor in the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences
    David Colby

    David Colby

    • Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Research Professor in the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Director of Online Graduate Programs for BioMolecular Sciences
    Vitor Pomin

    Vitor Pomin

    • Associate Professor of Pharmacognosy and Research Associate Professor in the Research Institute Pharmaceutical Sciences
    Thomas Werfel

    Thomas Werfel

    • Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Affiliate Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Affiliate Associate Professor of Biomolecular Sciences and Co-Director the Center for Nano-Bio Interactions