Dr. Lance Wells is the Principal Investigator of BioF:GREAT. He is also Associate Director of the University of Georgia’s Complex Carbohydrate Research Center (CCRC), a Distinguished Research Professor, and a Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Distinguished Investigator. In 2026, he was named an American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Fellow in recognition of his outstanding contributions to biochemistry, molecular biology, and glycobiology.
Dr. Wells’ research focuses on understanding the biological roles of O-glycan modifications of proteins, which regulate protein structure, function, and stability. His laboratory investigates how defects in O-glycan biosynthesis contribute to human diseases, including muscular dystrophies and intellectual disabilities, providing fundamental insights into the mechanisms of glycosylation and disease.
Dr. Wells earned his B.S. in Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Emory University School of Medicine before completing a National Cancer Institute-funded postdoctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Today, he leads internationally recognized research while driving BioF’s mission to expand access to glycoscience technologies, training, and collaborative research.
Dr. Parastoo Azadi is a Co-Principal Investigator and Director of the BioF:GREAT User Facility. She also serves as the Technical Director of Analytical Services and Training at the University of Georgia’s Complex Carbohydrate Research Center (CCRC). Since 2001, she has led one of the world’s premier glycomics analytical service and training programs, overseeing state-of-the-art glycan and glycoconjugate analyses for academic institutions, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies across the United States and internationally.
Dr. Azadi is internationally recognized for her expertise in the structural characterization of carbohydrates, glycoproteins, glycolipids, and polysaccharides using mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Her laboratory develops and applies advanced analytical methods to characterize complex glycans from plant, microbial, and animal systems while collaborating with industry partners to support the development of carbohydrate-based therapeutics from discovery through preclinical and clinical development.
Dr. Azadi earned her B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of North London and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Imperial College London, where she specialized in the structural characterization of carbohydrates and glycoproteins by mass spectrometry. Following her doctoral studies, she served as a senior scientist at M-Scan Ltd. before joining the CCRC in 1994. Through BioF:GREAT, she continues to expand access to cutting-edge glycoanalytical technologies while providing training and technical expertise to researchers worldwide.
Dr. Natarajan Kannan is a Co-Principal Investigator of BioF:GREAT and serves as a Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Institute of Bioinformatics at the University of Georgia. He is also a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scholar. His research integrates computational biology, artificial intelligence, structural biology, and experimental biochemistry to understand how protein families—including kinases and glycosyltransferases—evolve, function, and contribute to human health and disease.
Dr. Kannan’s laboratory develops cutting-edge AI and machine learning approaches to predict protein function, uncover mechanisms of enzyme regulation, and accelerate protein engineering and glycoscience research. His team has made significant contributions to understanding the regulation and evolution of protein kinases, glycosyltransferases, and ion channels, while creating computational tools that enable functional annotation and structural modeling of proteins at genome scale.
Dr. Kannan earned his Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, before completing postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Diego, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. He has authored nearly 100 peer-reviewed publications and received numerous honors, including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the NIH Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA), the University of Georgia Creative Research Award, and recognition as a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scholar. Through BioF:GREAT, he is advancing AI-driven glycoinformatics and computational tools that expand access to glycoscience research and education.
Dr. Bree Urbanowicz is a Co-Principal Investigator of BioF:GREAT, an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Georgia, and leads the Plant Biopolymers Group at the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center (CCRC). Her research focuses on understanding the enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis and modification of plant cell wall polysaccharides, with the goal of advancing plant biology, renewable biomaterials, and glycoscience.
Dr. Urbanowicz’s laboratory investigates the molecular pathways that plants use to synthesize complex carbohydrates, with particular expertise in plant glycosyltransferases, methyltransferases, and acetyltransferases. Her team has pioneered high-throughput methods for recombinant expression of plant carbohydrate-active enzymes and has developed innovative approaches for the in vitro synthesis, functionalization, and analysis of plant polysaccharides. These tools provide new opportunities to engineer plant cell walls and develop sustainable glycopolymer-based materials with valuable biological and industrial applications.
Dr. Urbanowicz earned her B.S. in Biology from Purdue University and her Ph.D. from Cornell University before completing postdoctoral training at the University of Georgia. Through BioF:GREAT, she is expanding access to plant glycoscience technologies, enabling researchers to better understand plant carbohydrate biosynthesis while accelerating innovation in agriculture, biotechnology, and bio-based materials.
Dr. Kelley Moremen is a Co-Principal Investigator of BioF:GREAT and a Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Georgia’s Complex Carbohydrate Research Center (CCRC). His research focuses on the enzymes responsible for the synthesis, modification, and degradation of glycans across the tree of life, with the goal of understanding their structure, function, and regulation while developing innovative approaches for glycan engineering.
Dr. Moremen’s laboratory is internationally recognized for advancing the biochemistry and structural biology of glycosylation enzymes, including glycosyltransferases, glycosidases, and sulfotransferases. His team pioneered the Repository of Glycan-related Expression Constructs (RGEC), a comprehensive platform for recombinant production of mammalian glycoenzymes that has transformed structural studies, chemoenzymatic glycan synthesis, and glycoengineering. His research also explores protein-glycan interactions, the regulation of glycosylation pathways, and the enzymatic mechanisms that govern glycoprotein biosynthesis and quality control.
Dr. Moremen earned his B.S. in Chemistry and Biology from Dickinson College and his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Vanderbilt University before completing postdoctoral fellowships at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Since joining the CCRC in 1991, he has led numerous collaborative NIH-funded initiatives that have established foundational resources for the glycoscience community. Through BioF:GREAT, he continues to develop transformative glycoenzyme technologies and expand access to advanced glycoengineering tools for researchers worldwide.
Dr. Erin Dolan is a Co-Principal Investigator of BioF:GREAT and serves as the Georgia Athletic Association Professor of Innovative Science Education, Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Undergraduate Affairs Director for the Life Sciences at the University of Georgia. She is an internationally recognized leader in biology education research whose work focuses on broadening participation in science through innovative teaching, research experiences, and evidence-based mentoring.
Dr. Dolan leads the SPREE Lab (Social Psychology of Research Experiences and Education), where her research examines how undergraduate and graduate research experiences, mentoring, and learning environments shape students’ educational outcomes and career pathways in the life sciences. Her work has been instrumental in advancing course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), improving STEM mentorship, and developing more equitable and inclusive approaches to science education. She has served on the U.S. National Academies committee on mentoring in STEMM and was Editor-in-Chief of CBE—Life Sciences Education for a decade.
Dr. Dolan earned her B.A. in Biology from Wellesley College and her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of California, San Francisco. Through BioF:GREAT, she leads efforts to develop innovative glycoscience education programs, workforce training initiatives, and evidence-based educational resources that expand access to glycoscience for students, educators, and researchers nationwide.