Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology and Board on Life Sciences
National Research Council
The committee thanks all those who shared their thoughts with it on challenges and opportunities in glycoscience. The committee is considering the feedback received and writing its report, which is expected to be released in August 2012.
Statement of Task
The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences will convene an ad hoc committee to assess the importance and impact of glycoscience and glycomics. Glycoscience is the confluence of scientific disciplines that study complex carbohydrates (glycans) and their relationships to other molecules. Glycans are involved in all phases of life and an improved understanding could significantly impact diverse sectors of society including health and energy. While genomics and proteomics have produced unparalleled discoveries that have advanced the understanding of biological processes, the picture these present is incomplete. Glycoscience and glycomics, the systematic analysis and characterization of the structure and function of glycans synthesized by a cell, tissue, or organism, could be a critical next step in building on genomics and proteomics, linking gene function to an observed phenotype, and decoding the molecular make-up of an organism.
In order to realize the potential of glycoscience and glycomics to build on genomics and proteomics and forge major new roads of discovery, the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences will convene an ad hoc committee to:
- Conduct an in-depth analysis of the current state of research in glycoscience and glycomics in the U.S.;
- Compare current U.S. and international research efforts in glycoscience;
- Discuss key challenges to the growth and development of the field of glycoscience and glycomics;
- Develop a roadmap with concrete research goals to significantly advance glycoscience and glycomics in the U.S., including the identification of metrics that may be used to help assess efforts to achieve these goals and objectives; and
- Articulate a unified vision for the field on glycoscience and glycomics.
The ad hoc committee will conduct workshops and other data gathering activities to inform its findings and conclusions, which will be provided in the form of a consensus report.
For more information on this study, please contact Rachel Yancey (ryancey@nas.edu)