Bacterial Sialobiology.

We are interested in how Gram -ve bacteria scavenge, catabolize, and coat themselves with Neu5Ac.  This allows bacteria to evade the immune system and survive in the host.  Neu5Ac, the outermost sugar in most human glycosylations, is the marker for self to the human immune system.  Neu5Ac has been implicated in viral infection, auto-immune diseases, cancer, etc.   Understanding how proteins recognize Neu5Ac has implications beyond Gram -ve bacterial infection.