Indiana University Set Up Sugar Center

Indiana University researchers will develop a new center to investigate sugar's role in such health issues as alcoholism and cancer, with the help of $3.2 million from the National Institutes of Health.

IU Bloomington chemist Milos Novotny and colleagues in the Department of Chemistry, School of Medicine and School of Informatics will establish the National Center for Glycomics and Glycoproteomics.

Many of Novotny's current research projects involve the attachment of sugars to large molecules inside the human body. The sugar chains serve several functions. Among them are acting as "tags" to put the body's immune system at ease and playing a role in alcoholism and some types of cancer.

Glycomics is the general study of these sugar chains. Glycoproteomics examines differences in the way the sugar chains are attached to proteins.

Staff at the center will create new technologies to improve the ability of scientists to investigate biological sugars, leading to a better understanding of sugar biology. Staff also will handle investigations of glycoprotein markers associated with cancer and alcoholism, endocrinology-center studies including fertilization, and comparative research about plants and animals.

-- Barb Berggoetz