My research activity focuses on the study of the relationships between structure, biosynthesis and function of glycoconjugates. Due to the enormous structural heterogeneity of this class of compounds, structural analysis, which requires the mastery of a large number of techniques, has progressively become a distinct speciality within glycobiology. The growing interest in the post-genomic approach and the rapid refinement of spectroscopic technologies have recently allowed us to initiate new developments in the analysis of glycomes and glycoproteomes, which appear more than ever as indispensable complements to the classical molecular biology approaches aimed at studying the expression of enzymes involved in glycan synthesis. This interface promises rapid developments in the understanding of the regulation of glycan synthesis and its physiological role.

The vast majority of my research work is integrated into two complementary thematic axes combining biophysical, enzymatic, genomic and bioorganic chemistry analyses: (i) the role of glycoconjugates in host-pathogen interactions and (ii) the diversity of glycan biosynthesis in animal cells. The originality of my work lies largely in our ability to accurately profile glycosylation and to identify novel activities related to sugar metabolism. The integration of structural and biological data associated with glycans has thus allowed us to define with great precision the relationships between the biosynthesis, structure and functions of many complex glycans of interest in various physiological processes.