Dr. Laura Kiessling, PhD

The Kiessling Group uses chemical biology to elucidate the biological roles of carbohydrates, with a focus on learning new mechanistic concepts. Understanding carbohydrate function is important because all cells on Earth wear a carbohydrate coat. This carbohydrate coat is poised to mediate or modulate diverse and critical biological processes. Given the emerging evidence that this coat serves as a critical conduit of information, our group focuses on elucidating how carbohydrates are assembled, how they are recognized, and how they function. Using ideas and approaches that range from synthetic chemistry to molecular and cell biology, our research group is addressing the critical issues at this frontier.