
Jon Amster
Professor
Chemistry
Structural analysis and characterization of glycosaminoglycans using mass spectrometry
Learn more about this group by contacting Dr. Ryan Weiss (Ryan.Weiss@uga.edu).
Glycobiology is the study of the biological functions of glycans. Glycans are one of the four major building blocks of life. Glycans function as both free molecules and also as components of glycoproteins and glycolipids, and they are the most complex and the most abundant organic molecules on the planet. Glycans play a direct role in nearly every known biological process, and they are directly involved in the etiology of every major disease affecting mankind. Recent advances in technology are allowing great strides to be made in our understanding the molecular functions of glycans. This field is amongst the last major frontiers in biological sciences.
Structural analysis and characterization of glycosaminoglycans using mass spectrometry
Structural analysis and hands-on training for all glycoconjugates using mass spectrometry and NMR
Molecular cell biology of the wall, Biofuel and BioEnergy, Golgi as model for System biology, Plant Immunity.
Our goal is to define the impact of protein post-translational modifications on structure and function in the immune system.
Organic and medicinal chemistry; carbohydrate chemistry; glycomimetics; drug design and development with emphasis on multi-drug resistant infectious diseases
Metabolomics and systems biology of Caenorhabditis elegans using NMR,
mass spec, and computational approaches.
Role of glycosylation in regulating Notch signaling, assisting protein folding, and development.
Nutrient Regulation of Signaling and Transcription: Mechanisms Underlying Diabetes, Neurodegeneration and Cancer
Lipidomic and metabolomic analyses of antimicrobial resistant pathogens using ion mobility and mass spectrometry
Mass spectrometry, imaging, glycosylation, metabolism, environmental exposure (infectious disease, ionizing radiation, emerging pollutants).
Biosynthesis and function of the plant cell wall polysaccharide pectin.
Anti-cancer effects of pectin.
Biochemistry, molecular, and structural biology of mammalian glycoprotein biosynthesis and catabolism.
Microbial glycobiology lab characterizing bacterial glycoconjugate pathways, bacteriophage interactions with their hosts, and benefits of human milk oligosaccharides to develop novel vaccines and therapeutics for the prevention of diarrheal diseases and post-infectious neuropathies such as Guillain-Barré Syndrome.
Mechanisms that regulate the expression, function, and structure of tissue-specific glycans.
Characterizing the assembly of bacterial surface structures, Development of vaccines for viral
and bacterial pathogens, Systems approaches to understanding microbial diseases
Structure and function of enzymes involved in plant polysaccharide biosynthesis and modification with the long term goal to develop pathway engineering or targeted genomics approaches for enhanced production of bio-materials, -products, and -fuels.
Investigating the regulatory mechanisms of glycosylation using genomic, chemical, and genetic approaches with particular focus on the discovery of novel drugs and targets to treat human diseases.
Role of protein glycosylation in intellectual disability, congenital muscular dystrophy, cancer, and viral infection.
Oxygen- and glycosylation-dependent regulation of polyubiquitin ligases in Dictyostelium and Toxoplasma gondii;
Glycobiology of protozoa.
X-ray crystallographic and biochemical studies of nucleotide sugar metabolism.
Immunological carbohydrate-protein interactions studied by computational simulation and experimental methods.