Research Overview

The research in the Hsieh-Wilson Lab integrates organic chemistry with neurobiology to explore the chemical basis of brain processes such as learning, memory and motor control.  A nerve cell communicates with its neighbors through a combination of chemical changes that occur both at the cell surface and inside the cell.  We seek to identify those chemical changes and understand how they contribute to the formation and strengthening of neuronal connections.  Chemical synthesis is essential to our investigations, providing access to defined carbohydrate structures and various derivatives for the study of their biological roles.

Two areas of our research (Glycosaminoglycans and Fucosyl Saccharides) explore chemical changes at the cell surface within specialized sites of contact called synapses.  A third area (Dynamic Glycosylation) focuses on understanding a dynamic, chemical modification to intracellular proteins that occurs when nerve cells are stimulated.