The goal of this experience is to introduce the student to glycobiology—an expanding field at the forefront of the biomedical sciences that studies the structure and function of carbohydrates present in all living organisms. In particular, our laboratory focuses on the role of carbohydrates and carbohydrate-binding proteins in protecting the eye against dehydration and pathogen invasion. Our research uses methods in biochemistry (e.g., high-performance liquid chromatography, immunoassays), molecular biology (e.g., siRNA, microarrays, homologous recombination) and cell culture. In addition to the student's own project, he/she will attend relevant seminars and workshops, and will contribute to weekly lab meetings. Duration will be a minimum of eight weeks, and longer electives are encouraged. Start dates are flexible. Funding is available.

Glycobiology is an expanding field at the forefront of the biomedical sciences that studies the structure and function of carbohydrates present in all living organisms. Glycosylation is an important and common form of post-transcriptional modification of cell surface proteins.

This project aims to determine whether clustering of a glycosylated cell surface receptor by a multimeric carbohydrate-binding protein mediates activation of human corneal fibroblasts. The student will use cell culture and immunoassay techniques to investigate the scientific question.