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Professor: Mary L. Kraft
University of Illinois
600 S. Mathews Ave,. MC-712
Urbana, IL 61801
phone: 217-333-2228
fax: 217-333-5052
Discovery of Cancer Biomarkers
Glycosylated cell membrane components modulate many vital physiological processes, including cell adhesion, migration, differentiation, and recognition. Aberrant glycans, or oligosaccharide moieties attached to lipids and proteins, are often expressed during disease development, including cancer progression to a metastatic stage. Although the expression of some abnormal glycans have been linked to specific diseases, the full range of structural changes and the functional roles of the altered glycans remain undiscovered. 
We are developing an imaging secondary ion mass spectrometry approach to identify membrane glycoconjugates by their mass spectra and image their distributions within individual cells. This strategy to identify and image membrane glycan structures that are associated with specific phenotypes can lead to a better understanding of their functional significance in disease progression.