2018 Haworth Memorial Lectureship
Professor Gideon Davies FRS has been awarded the 2018 Haworth Memorial Lectureship from the RSC Carbohydrate Group.
AUTHOR: Matthew Gibson
The award is given in recognition of his structural and chemical investigations of the biological roles of carbohydrates, dissection of enzyme reaction coordinates and the application of ligands for cellular insight.
The award was founded in 1969 in commemoration of Sir Norman Haworth (president of the Chemical Society 1944-46) and it is awarded for sustained, internationally recognized contributions to carbohydrate chemistry. Previous awardees include Nobel Prize winners and some of the world’s leading glycoscientists
Professor Davies is one of the world’s foremost carbohydrate chemists. Currently the Royal Society Ken Murray Research Professor at the University of York, he is known for his dynamic structural and chemical investigations of the biological roles of carbohydrates, the conformational analysis of enzyme reaction coordinates and the application of ligands for cellular insight; his name is synonymous with the field of polysaccharide degradation, whether that be in industrial/biofuel contexts, the human microbiota or the medical aspects of glycobiology.
His recent work has demonstrated the basis for heparanase activation and specificity, unveiled the structure of the human O-GlcNAc hydrolase – the inhibitors for which are now in clinical trial for neurodegeneration – and with Harry Gilbert and Harry Brumer he has made pioneering strides into the diverse enzymatic syndicates that the gut microbiota used to degrade human dietary polysaccharides such as xyloglucans, mannans and pectins. Gideon also has a continuing interest in biotechnological aspects of polysaccharide degradation, which is exemplified by his pioneering work, with Paul Walton, on the discovery and application of diverse Cu-dependent lytic polysaccharide oxygenases.
About Professor Davies
After completing a degree and PhD at the University of Bristol, Prof Davies undertook a postdoctoral position at the European Molecular Biology Lab (Hamburg) and also at CNRS Grenoble. He then joined the University of York within the renowned York Structural Biology Laboratory (YSBL) with a Royal Society University Research Fellowship. Professor Davies is a fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Professor Davies will be awarded his medal and deliver the Haworth Lecture at the 2019 Spring meeting of the RSC Carbohydrate group.
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