Glycobiology & Glycochemistry

Cancer Biology and Structural Biology

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Cancer is caused when cells within the body accumulate genetic mutations and start to grow in an uncontrolled manner. Understanding how cancer develops and progresses including how glycan mutations drive the growth and spread of cancer cells and how tumours interact with their surrounding environment is vital for the discovery of new targeted cancer treatments. Researchers are working to understand the process by which cancer spreads known as metastasis with the aim of developing new treatments that prevent cancer spread or target metastatic tumours. Scientists believe the glycolipid complexity arises in part because tumours develop through a process of evolution by natural selection just as species of animals and plants have done.