The study of glycomics and how the study of sugars on our body’s cells has brought new insights into human health research.

That’s the focus of the 2024 Brosnan Lecture, hosted by the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, taking place on Nov. 27.

Brosnan lecturer Dr. Lara Mahal is the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Glycomics and a professor of chemistry at the University of Alberta. She is also the founding director of the Glycomics Institute of Alberta. 

“My research is focused on understanding how complex sugars, known as glycans, encode information about our health and the role that they play in disease,” Dr. Mahal said “Along the way, we have also made new discoveries about microRNA (miRNA) and how these small RNA control proteins that alter our understanding of these molecules.”

Dr. Mahal’s work in glycomics has received numerous awards, including the National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award (2008) and the Horace Isbell Award for Carbohydrate Chemistry from the American Chemical Society (2017).

Identifying roles

The Mahal Lab uses systems-based approaches to identify the roles of glycans, also known as carbohydrates, oligosaccharides, or sugars, which are now understood to be pivotal in nearly all biological processes and could be part of novel solutions to many health problems.

The sugars play a crucial role in cell communication, helping with tasks like fighting harmful bacteria and guiding cell movement.

Despite their importance, glycans remain one of the least explored classes of biomolecules.

The investigation of the correlation between glycans and disease has many potential benefits, says Dr. Mahal.

“Some of our latest research is focused on the role that complex sugars play in melanoma and its metastasis. We are also studying how these glycans impact multiple sclerosis and a host of other diseases. On the miRNA side, we are trying to understand how these small RNA work with the hope that this can help us create new technologies to control protein expression.”

Research excellence

As the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Glycomics, Dr. Mahal brings her expertise in chemistry and biochemistry in the study of sugars and has joined fellow leading experts in glycomics at GlycoNet, a pan-Canadian Network of Centres of Excellence of more than 140 researchers.

The program awards universities funding to support world‑renowned researchers and their teams to establish ambitious research programs at Canadian universities.

“The Canada Excellence Research Chair is an amazing opportunity,” said Dr. Mahal.

She also notes that it has allowed her the opportunity to create the Glycomics Institute of Alberta, launched in 2022 to focus on local glycoscience and glycomics, and connecting researchers at the University of Alberta and beyond.

“Being the Canada Excellence Research Chair has allowed me to expand my research in new and exciting directions and allowed me to create the Glycomics Institute of Alberta, which in turn is bringing researchers together to leverage glycosylation research for human (and animal) health.”

Generous gift

The Brosnan Lecture in Biochemistry was established through a generous gift from Dr. Sean Brosnan.

An accomplished educator and one of Memorial’s premier scientists and researchers, his gift enables the Department of Biochemistry to invite an eminent biochemist to deliver one or more lectures on biochemical research or on the history of biochemistry on an annual basis.

The lecture, Adding a Little Sugar: How Incorporating Glycomics into Multi’omic Analysis Brought New Insights into Human Health and miRNA, takes place Wednesday, Nov. 27, at 1:30 p.m. in room CSF-1302, Core Science Facility.

All are welcome.