Mass Spectrometry analysis of glycans, glycoproteins and glycoconjugates
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
Applications of analytical and synthetic chemistry are fundamental to elucidating the structures and expression patterns of complex biological molecules such as proteins and glycoconjugates, and understanding their functional interactions in order to exploit them effectively as targets of novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
This course is intended as an introductory survey of instrumental and chemical techniques currently being applied to proteomics, glycomics, and glycoproteomics, and to biological problems involving protein-carbohydrate interactions.
The practical course will include mass spectrometry (MS) applied to the glycopeptide and glycoprotein analysis (bottom up DDA/DIA and Intact MS), with a special focus on key post-translational modifications (PTMs), including N- and O-linked glycosylation. Coverage will include sample preparation, new developments in fragmentation of peptides and glycans for determination of sequence and PTM site occupancy, high throughput applications, biomarker analysis, bottom up and Intact MS analysis, the basics glycoproteomics data analysis.
Learning objectives
A student who has met the objectives of the course will be able to:
1. Understand the principles of mass spectrometry
2. Describe mechanisms generating glycoproteomic diversity
3. Understand principles of glycoproteomic and PTM analysis
4. Analyse and interpret glycoproteomics datasets
Content
The following topics are covered on the course:
General introduction to mass spectrometry (history, fundamentals), post translational modifications, carbohydrates, glycobiology, glycoproteomics, glycoinformatics and glyco biomedical applications.
Participants
PhD students engaged in projects that require knowledge of the structural chemistry and intermolecular interactions of glycoconjugates, current methods for analysis of protein glycosylation, and their applications in the field of biomedicine.
Relevance to graduate programmes
The course is relevant to PhD students from the following graduate programmes at the Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences, UCPH:
All graduate programmes
Language
English
Form
Lectures, discussions, exercises and demonstrations
Course director
Sergey Vakhrushev
Associate professor, Copenhagen Center for Glycocalyx Research, Institut for Cellulær og Molekylær Medicin, seva@sund.ku.dk
Teachers
Sergey Vakhrushev, Copenhagen Center for Glycocalyx Research members and invited external lecturers
Dates
2-6 November 2026
Course location
Panum, Mærsk Tower, 10th floor
Registration
Please register before 4 October 2026
Expected frequency
The course is offered biennially
Seats to PhD students from other Danish 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.