Today, Thursday, September 12, the University of Utah Department of Chemistry hosted Assistant Professor Jessica Kramer, University of Utah, for the  Organic Chemistry Seminar sponsored by Assistant Professor of Chemistry Andrew Roberts and Distinguished Professor Matthew Sigman.

Dr. Kramer joined the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Utah in 2017. Dr. Kramer obtained an Honors B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Utah and a Ph.D. in 2012 from UCLA.

Jessica Kramer expressed her gratitude to the Department of Chemistry for her experience and B.S. chemistry degree as an undergraduate. She also performed undergraduate research with Professor Dale Poulter and was awarded an undergraduate research award following a nomination from Professor Tom Richmond.

The seminar title was “Synthetic glycopolypeptides and their application as mimics of mucins and antifreezes.”

Abstract: Glycoproteins are ubiquitous in nature. Due to complex biosynthetic pathways and heterogenous structures, glycoproteins are challenging to prepare by both recombinant and synthetic methods. As a solution, advances in the chemistry of amino acid N-carboxyanhydride (NCA) polymerization to yield glycopolypeptides will be presented. Glycopolypeptides can mimic many features of glycoproteins and the amino acid composition, peptide conformation, and glycosylation patterns can be controlled. Application of our materials to two important classes of glycoproteins will be discussed: mucins and antifreeze proteins. Mucins are the key protein component of mucus, saliva, and tears and are valuable therapeutic targets for lubricants, anti-infectives, and cancer. Antifreeze proteins have important applications in foods and biomedicine. Our chemical tools can not only mimic the structures of these native glycoproteins, but also their functions.

Read more about the Kramer Lab Research here.

Dr. Kramer at the University of Utah Department of  Chemistry, September 12, 2024