Join Cool Science for Science on Tap every 2nd Monday of the month [except this month- see below] at Jack Quinn’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in downtown Colorado Springs. Presenters begin at 6:30 pm and typically speak for 60-90 minutes including Q&A, with food and drink available beginning at 6:00 pm. A wide variety of fascinating topics are presented by local scientists for informal discussion, and the relaxed atmosphere encourages anyone and everyone to come explore the latest ideas in science and technology. From practical to theoretical, the presentations and group interactions provide a fun and interesting way to gain an understanding of the world around us.
Join Cool Science for Science on Tap every 2nd Monday of the month [except this month- see below] at Jack Quinn’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in downtown Colorado Springs. Presenters begin at 6:30 pm and typically speak for 60-90 minutes including Q&A, with food and drink available beginning at 6:00 pm. A wide variety of fascinating topics are presented by local scientists for informal discussion, and the relaxed atmosphere encourages anyone and everyone to come explore the latest ideas in science and technology. From practical to theoretical, the presentations and group interactions provide a fun and interesting way to gain an understanding of the world around us.
Next up: Monday, March 10, 2025 at 6:30 pm
The “Sugar Code” in Cell Signaling
Crystal M. Vander Zanden, Ph.D., UCCS Dept of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Summary: This talk will discuss an emerging coding scheme in biology where sugars molecules can help us decode cell behavior, explaining why cancer cells metastasize and why immune cells recognize viruses. Biology is driven by codes, most notably DNA coding for our genes that make us who we are. The "Sugar Code" is a new idea that cells display sugar molecules on their surface to communicate with other cells. These sugar patterns change when a cancer cell breaks away from a tumor, which has led to over 14 new drugs in clinical trials aiming to target the sugar code to control cancer cell behavior. We'll discuss the historical perspective of sugars in biochemistry and explore the new role of sugars as coding molecules that are emerging targets in cancer treatment.
Dr. Crystal Vander Zanden (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCCS. She completed her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Doane University, a PhD in Biochemistry at Colorado State University, and postdoctoral research at the University of New Mexico. During her post-doc, she became interested in the structure of cell membranes and the proteins that bind to them, which provided the foundation for the research she is doing today. Her research on sugar-binding proteins is currently supported by a grant from the National Institute of Health, which funds a small team of undergraduate and master's students to work on this project.
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