Established 21 years ago through Griffith University and Queensland Government investment, the Institute for Glycomics has become one of Australia’s flagship multidisciplinary biomedical research institutes. With its remarkably unique research approach centred around glycomics, the Institute has established itself as a core facility nationally and internationally. This has, in turn, attracted world-renowned researchers and collaborators from the four corners of the globe.
But what is glycomics and why is the research conducted by the Institute important to us as individuals and as a global community?
The sugar language in our body
Every cell in our body is decorated with sugars which are essential to our health and wellbeing. Glycomics is the study of this sugar ‘language’ within our body, referred to as the glycome. Unfortunately, this sugar language can also be used negatively by our body, resulting in major health problems.
A primary focus of the research undertaken by the Institute for Glycomics is discovering the role that sugars play in disease. With this knowledge, researchers can develop new diagnostics—drugs and vaccines that can be used to diagnose, treat and prevent diseases such as cancers, infectious diseases and neurodegenerative disorders.
Institute for Glycomics 2020 highlights
Established in 2000, and now comprising over 200 researchers and support staff, the Institute for Glycomics is a world-leader in fighting diseases of global impact through discovery and translational science.
Infographic supplied by the Institute of Glycomics
The future
With its outstanding track record in translating biomedical discoveries to the clinic, there is little doubt that the Institute for Glycomics will play a major role in the discovery and development of next generation drugs, vaccines and diagnostics with the power to change our future.
Infectious diseases pose some of the world’s most significant health challenges, claiming over 17 million lives globally every year. There is an overwhelming need to find new ways to combat diseases caused by bacterial, viral, parasitic and fungal pathogens. Also, the increasing emergence of antibiotic-resistance is a global concern, so there is an urgent need to discover new approaches to address antibiotic-resistance and the lack of effective vaccines for some of the world’s most serious viral and bacterial pathogens.
It is estimated that about 1 in 6 deaths globally is due to cancer—a debilitating disease that claims the lives of over 9 million people every year. The Institute’s cancer glycomics research specialists aim to reverse these alarming statistics through the discovery and development of new scientific technologies to fight the disease.
Image courtesy of the Institute of Glycomics
World-leading research
Read these recent blogs about the real-life impact of the research being undertaken at the Institute for Glycomics:
- Meet the man behind the Institute for Glycomics, Professor Mark von Itzstein AO
- Dr Darren Grice and the Institute for Glycomics lead the fight against middle ear infections
- Institute for Glycomics takes pioneering steps to combat viral infections
- From the Moon Landing to the Institute for Glycomics – Meet Dr Milton Kiefel
You can learn more about glycomics research through our open access research on Griffith Research Online:
- New antiviral approaches for human parainfluenza: Inhibiting the haemagglutinin-neuraminidase
- Unravelling the Role of O-glycans in Influenza A Virus Infection
- Antiangiogenic platinum through glycan targeting
- Glycobiology of Human Fungal Pathogens: New Avenues for Drug Development
- Back to (non-)Basics: An Update on Neutral and Charge-Balanced Glycosidase Inhibitors
- The Potential of Glycomics and Glycoproteomics to Improve Cancer Diagnosis
- Tissue glycomics distinguish tumour sites in women with advanced serous adenocarcinoma
- Towards a standardized bioinformatics infrastructure for N- and O-glycomics
Access Griffith Research Online for more glycomics research.
Image courtesy of the Institute of Glycomics
