Hands-on training courses
The National Glycoscience Resource at the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center (CCRC) offers hands-on and virtual glycobiology training for students, postdocs and visiting scientists from academic, industry and government laboratories worldwide.
Short-term trainees can enroll in one or more of four in-person courses and two virtual courses covering the principles, methods and analytical techniques used to study complex carbohydrates. The programme is supported by participant fees and NIH funding, and is run by CCRC Analytical Services & Training (AST).
Courses at a glance
| Course | Title | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Course 1 | Techniques for characterization of carbohydrate structure of plant and microbial polysaccharides | August 9–13, 2027 |
| Course 2 | Separation and characterization of glycoprotein and glycolipid oligosaccharides | August 16–20, 2027 |
| Course 3 | Analytical techniques for structural analysis of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) | August 23–25, 2027 |
| Course 4 | Glycoproteomics, glycomics, glycoenzymes and AI-driven glycoinformatics | October 12–14, 2026 |
| Virtual Course 1 | Fundamentals of polysaccharide analysis | December 7–8, 2026 |
| Virtual Course 2 | Fundamentals of glycomics and glycopeptide analysis | December 9–10, 2026 |
In-person courses
Course 1
Techniques for characterization of carbohydrate structure of plant and microbial polysaccharides
Hands-on instruction in the isolation, purification and structural characterization of poly- and oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates: GC-MS composition analysis, derivatization, structural analysis by mass spectrometry and NMR, and chromatographic separation. Guest lectures cover chemical synthesis, biosynthesis, antibodies and bacterial polysaccharides, with detailed demonstrations of monosaccharide composition and linkage analysis.
Course 2
Separation and characterization of glycoprotein and glycolipid oligosaccharides
Glycomics and glycoproteomics by mass spectrometry, with bioinformatics tools for data interpretation. Bench work includes N- and O-glycan release, permethylation, NSI-MS/MS and MALDI-MS profiling, glycolipid analysis and lectin blotting, plus a dedicated glycoproteomics module. Lectures cover glycosylation site mapping, glycopeptide analysis, glycoprotein biosynthesis, bacterial glycoproteins and glycosphingolipids.
Course 3
Analytical techniques for structural analysis of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs)
Fundamental techniques for GAG analysis: isolation strategies, compositional analysis, acid hydrolysis, HPLC and size-exclusion chromatography, with emphasis on disaccharide analysis by SAX-HPLC. Advanced topics include 1D and 2D NMR and GAG–protein interactions measured by surface plasmon resonance, alongside the biological and therapeutic significance of GAGs.
Course 4
Glycoproteomics, glycomics, glycoenzymes and AI-driven glycoinformatics
A comprehensive introduction to modern glycoscience: glycosylation, glycomics, glycoproteomics and glycoenzyme biology. Participants work hands-on with FragPipe, Andromeda, Byonic, pGlyco, GlycoCounter and Diver for glycopeptide and glycoprotein identification, and cover glycosyltransferases and glycoside hydrolases, structural glycobiology, protein–glycan modelling with AlphaFold 3 and JAAG, AI and machine learning for enzyme classification, and glycoinformatics databases.
Virtual courses
Virtual Course 1
Fundamentals of polysaccharide analysis
The theory and analytical strategies used to isolate, purify and characterize plant and microbial polysaccharides, through interactive lectures and data interpretation: GC-MS composition analysis, alditol acetate and trimethylsilyl derivatives, structural analysis by MS and NMR, and chromatographic separation.
Virtual Course 2
Fundamentals of glycomics and glycopeptide analysis
Experimental and analytical strategies in glycomics and glycoproteomics, emphasizing mass spectrometry, bioinformatics and chromatography: N- and O-glycan release, permethylation, glycan tagging, NSI-MS/MS, MALDI-MS and HPAEC profiling, with live demonstrations of glycolipid and lectin analyses, glycosylation site mapping and bioinformatics tools.
Who the courses are for
- Undergraduate and graduate students beginning work with carbohydrates.
- Postdoctoral researchers moving into glycoscience from an adjacent field.
- Visiting scientists from academic, government and industrial laboratories.
- Researchers who need a specific analytical technique for an ongoing project.
Registration and contact
Courses are registered and run through CCRC Analytical Services & Training. For questions about a course, contact AST at azadi@uga.edu or call 706-583-0629 or 706-542-4412.
Analytical Services & Training, Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, 315 Riverbend Road, Athens, GA 30602-4712.
Register for a course Full course information at ast.uga.edu Visiting scholar information
Course dates, fees and content are set by CCRC Analytical Services & Training and may change; see ast.uga.edu/training-in-glycoscience for the latest information.