Held in School of Food Science and Engineering, on November 28, the Food Science and Technology Branch of the Global Forum for Excellent Young Scholar by South China University of Technology introduced the latest researches, presented by Dr. Xing Zhang, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Dr. Chongtang Chen, Imperial College London, and Dr. Meng Lu,University of Cambridge. Hosted by Xinan Zeng, Dean of the Food Science and Technology College of SCUT, the forum included Ruihan Yi, the secretary of the Party Committee of the college and over 50 teachers and students.

Dr. XingZhang presented‘ Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of Structurally Defined Glycosaminoglycans and NMR Studies’ , which described the synthesis of a series of unnatural nucleotides sugars and their utility to access structurally defined GAGs. A diverse heparin oligosacharide library was prepared through an efficient method of chemoenzymatic synthesis. A systematic nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy study was also undertaken, which would be helpful for characterizing more complicated polysaccharide structures providing a safeguard to ensure the quality of the drug heparin. This HS/heparin library will be useful for activity screening and facilitate future structure–activity relationship studies.

Entitled ‘Metabolomics by Multidimensional Separation Approach: Route to Systematic Identification of Volatile Biomarkers’, Dr. ChongtangChen’s speech aimed to deduce a systematic workflow incorporating enhanced sampling methods, MDGC-MS innovation, and cross-platform integration for volatile biomarker discovery and validation. Adaptation of such workflowas generic functionalapproachfor food products as well as cancer breath and biofluids will be discussed.

Dr. LuMeng focus on the research of cell, and the title of his report was ‘Long-term Aggresome Accumulation Leads to DNA Damage and Cell Cycle Arrest’.  His study suggests a novel mechanism for polyglutamine-associated developmental and cell biological abnormalities, particularly those with early onset and non-neuronal pathologies.

The forum played an significant role in the cooperation between world famous universities communication, made a positive effect in setting up talent interaction..(By Chenchen Jia)