Glycobiology
Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences at University of Copenhagen
This course is free of charge for PhD students at Danish universities (except Copenhagen Business School), and for PhD Students from NorDoc member faculties. All other participants must pay the course fee.
Anyone can apply for the course, but if you are not a PhD student at a Danish university, you will be placed on the waiting list until enrollment deadline. This also applies to PhD students from NorDoc member faculties. After the enrollment deadline, available seats will be allocated to applicants on the waiting list.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is designed as a basic introduction to the structures, biosynthesis, and functions of complex carbohydrates. Protein glycosylation in eukaryotes is one of the most common forms of posttranslational modification, and complex carbohydrates on glycoproteins, glycosaminoglycans and glycolipids play key roles in various biological processes. Throughout the course, glycosylation processes in the eukaryotic cell will be in focus, with a particular emphasis on genetic engineering of glycogenes and recombinant expression of glycoproteins.
The course will provide the students with insights into the structure and function of glycoconjugates and carbohydrate-binding proteins, with examples of their roles in both normal and disease states. The practical component will involve working with a cell-based glycan array, based on stable glycoengineered libraries of isogenic HEK293 cells with loss or gain of glycosylation features. The students will use this library to dissect molecular interactions with reagents that bind glycans (e.g., lectins, antibodies, and other receptors). Additionally, students will practice assessing gene KO efficiency using a simple PCR-based method, indel detection by amplicon analysis (IDAA). The practical course will also include hands-on use of reagents (lectins, antibodies, enzymes) and methods (flow cytometry, PCR, fragment analyzer) employed to characterize carbohydrates. A deeper and broader theoretical understanding of the critical biological functions of carbohydrates and glycoproteins will be provided through lectures by national and international experts, with particular emphasis on the connection between glycosylation defects and human diseases.
Course title
Glycobiology
Learning objectives
The objectives of the course are to provide students with a basic introduction to the structures, biosynthesis, and functions of complex carbohydrates. Additionally, the course will offer insight into the structure and function of carbohydrate-binding proteins and provide examples of their roles in normal and disease states
A student who has met the objectives of the course will be able to:
1. Describe the major mammalian glycosylation pathways
2. Describe the biosynthetic complexity of the major glycosylation pathways
3. Describe ways of identifying the most common mammalian glycan structures
Content
The following topics are covered on the course:
General introduction to glycobiology, glycotechnology and glycogenetics, glycan function, glycosylation and diseases, carbohydrate binding molecules and glycan analysis,
Participants
No particular requirements
Language
English
Form
Lectures, discussions, exercises and demonstrations
Course directors
Yoshiki Narimatsu
Associate professor, Copenhagen Center for Glycomics, Institut for Cellulær og Molekylær Medicin, yoshiki@sund.ku.dk
and
Katrine Schjoldager
Associate professor, Copenhagen Center for Glycomics, Institut for Cellulær og Molekylær Medicin,,
schjoldager@sund.ku.dk
Teachers
We have a fantastic lineup of speakers that will cover all from basic introduction to the structures, biosynthesis, and functions of complex carbohydrates to insight into the structure and function of carbohydrate-binding proteins and provide examples of the roles of glycans in normal and disease states.
The practical part of the course involves working with a cell-based glycan array with loss or gain of glycosylation features. The students will get to use this library to dissect molecular interactions with reagents that bind glycans. Additionally. Students will also practice CRISPR-based gene KO and evaluate efficiency using a simple PCR-based method, indel detection by amplicon analysis (IDAA). The practical course will include hands-on use of reagents (lectins, antibodies, enzymes) and methods (flow cytometry, PCR, fragment analyzer) to characterize carbohydrates.
Confirmed invited speakers
Jesús Jiménez-Barbero – Ikerbasque Research Professor and Scientific Director, CIC bioGUNE, Bilbao, Spain
Roberto Weigert – Senior Investigator in the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, NIH, US
Lucy Crouch – Sir Henry Dale Fellow in Glycobiology, Institute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham, UK
Noortje de Haan – Assistant Professor, Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics, Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands
Dirk Lefeber – Professor of Glycosylation Disorders in Neurology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Netherlands
From Copenhagen Center for Glycocalyx Research
Hans H. Wandall , Katrine T. Schjoldager, Yoshiki Narimatsu, Sergey Vakhrushev, Rebecca Miller, Hiren Joshi, Ieva Bagdonaite and Adnan Halim
Dates
20 – 24 October 2025
Course location
Panum, Mærsk Tower, 10th floor
Registration
Please register before 20 September 2025
Expected frequency
Every second year
Seats to PhD students from other Danish and Swedish universities will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and according to the applicable rules. Applications from other participants will be considered after the last day of enrolment.
Note: All applicants are asked to submit invoice details in case of no-show, late cancellation or obligation to pay the course fee (typically non-PhD students). If you are a PhD student, your participation in the course must be in agreement with your principal supervisor.