As in the previous Eurocarb editions, Eurocarb 2021 will be the occasion for the European Carbohydrate Organization (ECO) and the Editors and Publisher of “Carbohydrate Research” for the presentation, during the opening ceremony, of two prestigious awards:
The Emil Fischer Award
The Emil Fischer Carbohydrate Award has been established in 2008 by the European Carbohydrate Organization in order to honor active carbohydrate scientists distinguished with contributions of excellence.
The 2020's Emil Fischer Award winner :
The 2021 Emil Fischer Award is conferred to Prof. Antonio MOLINARO, professor of Organic Chemistry at University of Napoli Federico II and Special Appointed Professor at School of Science of Osaka University.
The Award will be presented to Prof. Molinaro in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments toward the structural elucidation of complex carbohydrates from microbial world, in particular, in the study of structure and role of cell wall of microorganisms in the elicitation of innate immune response in plants and mammals.
When Antonio MOLINARO started his independent career, the investigation of the structure and the mechanisms of action of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and peptidoglycan (PGN) from plant-pathogen bacteria was still at a descriptive stage and little was known about the mechanisms of perception of these molecules by plants and about the associated signal transduction pathways that trigger plant immunity. By isolating glycoconjugates from Gram-negative bacteria and determining their 3D-structures using state of art NMR and MS methodologies and molecular mechanics and dynamics approaches, Antonio MOLINARO was able to elucidate the conformational behavior of the ligand alone and when interacting with a protein, determine its bioactive conformation and elucidate its epitope mapping.
His work led to seminal contributions to the understanding of the molecular basis of elicitation of eukaryotic defenses and the effects of microbial carbohydrate signatures on the immune response of both mammals and plants. Recently, he has moved his interests toward the understanding of the role of LPS in gut microbiota as well as root microbiota symbionts
Previous Emil Fischer Award winners :
Prof Carme Rovira
University of Barcelona, Spain
In recognition of her outstanding accomplishments to unravel the mode of action of carbohydrate processing enzymes in atomic detail using ground breaking computational techniques
Prof. Carlo Unverzagt
University of Bayreuth, Germany
In recognition of his outstanding accomplishments in the chemical and enzymatic synthesis of N-glycans and glycoproteins.
Prof. Jean-Paul Latgé
Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
In recognition of his outstanding accomplishments in fundamental and clinical aspects of the glycobiology of the human opportunistic fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus.
Prof. Antoni Planas
Institut Quimic de Sarria, Universitat Ramon Llull, Barcelona, Spain
In recognition of his outstanding accomplishments to unravel the mechanisms of glycosidases, glycosyltransferases, and other auxiliary enzymes involved in the fine decoration of oligosaccharides, polysaccharides and glycoconjugates.
Prof. David Crich
Department of Chemistry, Wayne State University, USA
In recognition of his outstanding accomplishments in vital areas of glycochemistry
Prof. Richard R. Schmidt
University of Konstanz, Germany
In recognition of his outstanding accomplishments in the field of the glycosylation reaction and oligosaccharide synthesis.
The Carbohydrate Research Award
Given every two years, the Award was established in 2001 by the Editors and Publisher of “Carbohydrate Research”. The“Carbohydrate Research Award for Creativity in Carbohydrate Chemistry” is presented to a carbohydrate scientist, no older than 15 years past the PhD, who has made significant original contributions to the field, in its broadest sense.
Carbohydrate Research Award winners
Professor Alba Silipo University of Naples
Professor Jeroen Codee
University of Leiden, The Netherlands
Professor David Vocadlo
Department of Chemistry at the Simon Fraser University, Canada
Professor Xi Chen
Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Davis
Matthieu Sollogoub
Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, Paris, France
Benjamin G. Davis
Oxford University, United Kingdom
Todd L. Lowary
University of Alberta, Canada
Peter H. Seeberger
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Switzerland
Geert-Jan Boons
University of Georgia, USA
Laura L. Kiessling
University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA