Researchers
Daan van Aalten
Professor
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics - Cellular Health, Intervention, and Nutrition
Daan van Aalten is Professor at Aarhus University, Denmark. Originally graduated as a chemist (1994) followed by a biocomputing PhD (1997), Daan has been working on the interface between cell signalling and glycobiology since joining Dundee as a PI (1999) using a multidisciplinary approach covering the spectrum from synthetic chemistry to genetics. Daan’s work in O-GlcNAc field has included development of chemical biology tools, uncovering novel molecular/biological mechanisms and development of animal models. Following a recent move to Aarhus university his lab now focuses on the dissection of an O-GlcNAc transferase intellectual disability syndrome.
Links and key research papers
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University
- 2022 – Bioinformatic prediction of putative conveyers of O-GlcNAc
transferase intellectual disability - 2020 An intellectual disability syndrome with single-nucleotide variants in O-GlcNAc transferase
- 2019 Catalytic deficiency of O-GlcNAc transferase leads to X-linked intellectual disability
- 2012 S. Pathak, V.S. Borodkin, O. Albarbarawi, D.G. Campbell, A. Ibrahim and D.M.F. van Aalten, “O-GlcNAcylation of TAB1 modulates TAK1-mediated cytokine release”, EMBO J. (2012), 31, 1394-1404
- 2012 M. Schimpl, X. Zheng, V.S. Borodkin, D.E. Blair, A.T. Ferenbach, A.W. Schuettelkopf, I. Navratilova, T. Aristotelous, O. Albarbarawi, D.A. Robinson, M.A. MacNaughtan and D.M.F. van Aalten, “O-GlcNAc transferase invokes nucleotide sugar pyrophosphate participation in catalysis”, Nature Chem.Biol. (2012), 8, 969-974
- 2009 E. Zeqiraj, B.M. Filippi, M. Deak, D.R. Alessi and D.M.F. van Aalten, “Structure of the LKB1-STRAD-MO25 complex reveals an allosteric mechanism of kinase activation”, Science (2009), 326, 1707-1711
- 2009 A. Clarke, R. Hurtado-Guerrero, S. Pathak, A.W. Schuettelkopf, V. Borodkin, S.M. Shepherd, A.F.M. Ibrahim, and D.M.F. van Aalten, “Structural insights into mechanism and specificity of O-GlcNAc transferase”, EMBO J. (2008), 27, 2780-2788
Lance Wells
Associate Director of the CMM, Distinguished Research Professor, GRA Distinguished Investigator
Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia
Links and key research papers
Stephanie Olivier-Van Stichelen, PhD
Assistant professor in Biochemistry and OBGYN
Medical College of Wisconsin
Dr. Olivier-Van Stichelen received her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Lille, France in 2012, where she studied the nutrient-sensing O-GlcNAcylation in colorectal cancer development. After completing her degree, she was appointed as a post-doctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. In this lab, Dr. Olivier-Van Stichelen worked on different aspects of O-GlcNAcylation during development, including X-inactivation of the O-GlcNAc Transferase gene, brain O-GlcNAcase function in mouse KO models and the impact of sugar and artificial sweeteners consumption during pregnancy on the development of metabolic homeostasis.
Dr. Olivier-Van Stichelen established her lab at the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2019 at the crossroads of sweeteners, pregnancy, development, and metabolism. Notably, her lab has developed several mouse models for studying O-GlcNAcylation and created the O-GlcNAc database, the reference catalog of O-GlcNAcylated proteins for all species.
Some of the current lab projects include studies of (i) O-GlcNAcylation in the pathophysiology of the pituitary gland, (ii) O-GlcNAc transferase’s function in the sexual dimorphism of Gestational Diabetes, and (iii) artificial sweeteners’ impact on detoxification transporters.
Links and key research papers
Gerald Hart
Professor and GRA Eminent Scholar Member of the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center
Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia
Dr. Hart’s research career began in 1971, focusing on glycoconjugates. He has conducted pioneering studies on cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans and the roles of sulfated glycosaminoglycans and hyaluronic acids in corneal transparency. His work also includes the early characterization of proteoglycan sulfotransferases, revealing key insights into the N-linked biosynthetic pathway and the regulation of protein glycosylation.
In the early 1980s, Dr. Hart’s laboratory discovered O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) modification of nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins. His team has published over 200 papers on O-GlcNAcylation, identifying the enzymes that control its cycling and its interplay with phosphorylation. These studies have shown how O-GlcNAcylation regulates various cellular processes, including signaling, transcription, translation, and mitochondrial functions.
Dr. Hart founded the journal Glycobiology in 1989, serving as Editor-In-Chief until 2001. He currently holds editorial roles at the Journal of Biological Chemistry and Molecular and Cellular Proteomics. His accolades include the International Glycoconjugate Organization Award, the Karl Meyer Award, the Presidents Innovator Award, the Herbert Tabor Award, and the Yamakawa Award. He has also served as President of both the International Glycoconjugate Organization and the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Dr. Hart’s current research focuses on the roles of O-GlcNAcylation in cancer, particularly its impact on β-catenin in WNT signaling and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. His collaboration with Dr. Michael Pierce explores how O-GlcNAcylation influences tumor cell suppression of the immune system.
Links and key research papers
- 2015 “Essentials of Glycobiology“
A Varki, RD Cummings, JD Esko, P Stanley, GW Hart, M Aebi, AG Darvill, …
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press - 2007 “Cycling of O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine on nucleocytoplasmic proteins“
GW Hart, MP Housley, C Slawson
Nature 446 (7139), 1017-1022 - All publications
Natasha E. Zachara, PhD
Associate Professor of Biological Chemistry
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Faculty
Dr. Natasha Zachara is an associate professor of Biological Chemistry and Oncology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Her research focuses on identifying the molecular mechanisms by which the sugar O-GlcNAc prevents cyrotoxicity, determining how cells regulate O-GlcNAc during times of stress, and how the O-GlcNAc-mediated stress response can be harnessed to reduce tissue death.
Dr. Zachara received her undergraduate degree in biotechnology (with honors) from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Her dissertation, completed at Macquarie University, focused on developing new technologies to map and quantify site-specific changes in protein glycosylation. She completed postdoctoral studies in glycobiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Zachara joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 2007.
Dr. Zachara serves as the director of the K12 training program Immersive Training in the Glycosciences. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Society of Biochemists and Molecular Biologists, and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including the Lorne Protein Structure and Function Young Scientist Award in 2006.
Links and key research papers
- Groves JA, Maduka AO, O’Meally RN, Cole RN, Zachara NE. Fatty acid synthase inhibits the O-GlcNAcase during oxidative stress. J Biol Chem. 2017 Apr 21;292(16):6493-6511. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M116.760785. Epub 2017 Feb 23. PMID: 28232487; PMCID: PMC5399103
Kazemi Z., Chang H., Haserodt S. K., McKen C., Zachara N.E. (2010) O-GlcNAc Regulates Stress-Induced Heat Shock Protein Expression in a GSK-3? Dependent Manner. J. Biol. Chem., 285, 39096-39107
Lee A, Miller D, Henry R, Paruchuri VD, O’Meally RN, Boronina T, Cole RN, Zachara NE. Combined Antibody/Lectin Enrichment Identifies Extensive Changes in the O-GlcNAc Sub-proteome upon Oxidative Stress. J Proteome Res. 2016 Dec 2;15(12):4318-4336. doi: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.6b00369. Epub 2016 Oct 14. PMID: 27669760
- All publications