Jaclyn Swan, PhD

Jaclyn Swan is a post-doctoral scholar at the University of California San Diego who is fascinated by glycans. This began during her doctoral studies at La Trobe University, Australia, where she was investigating the role of glycans in host-parasite interactions. The uniqueness of parasite glycans and their strong ability to manipulate the host's immune system has spurred Jaclyn’s interest in glycan modifications. Coming from an agricultural parasitology background she was very surprised to find that so little was known about the glycosylation of the human retina and is now curious if changes in glycosylation could be contributing to the progression of age related macular degeneration. Although glycosylation is not defined by a template, as is the transcription of proteins, it is a very deliberate process. And the beauty of it is that it has the ability to be quite dynamic and change with time and environmental conditions. Sialic acid plays a pivotal role in self/non-self recognition however she is also curious about the underlying glycan structure and its modifications.