Dr Ben Schulz

Biography

I graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering and Science in 2000 from The University of Queensland, after which I joined Proteome Systems, an Australian biotechnology company. In 2004 I moved to the ETH Zurich in Switzerland for my doctoral studies. I joined the School of Chemistry & Molecular Biosciences as a University of Queensland Postdoctoral Research Fellow in 2008, and commenced a NHMRC Career Development Fellowship in 2012.

Research Interest

Our research focuses on the mechanisms, biological roles and applications in biotechnology of glycosylation, the most abundant and complex post-translational modification of proteins. Glycosylation is important in biological processes such as human development, cancer and microbial infection. This is because glycosylation is essential in biological activities as diverse as protein folding, fine-tuning protein enzymatic activity and determining protein-protein interactions. Half of all proteins are glycosylated, and a single protein can be modified by hundreds of different sugar moieties. The diversity of glycoproteins therefore requires that we take a systems biology approach in our research. All of our projects use a core set of methods in molecular biology, genetic manipulation, protein biochemistry, glycoprotein analysis and mass spectrometry.We aim to understand the mechanisms controlling glycosylation in these various systems to develop diagnostics, therapies, vaccines and applications in biotechnology. Glycosylation in health and disease Altered glycosylation is associated with cancer and infection. We aim to understand the mechanisms controlling this process using in vitro protein biochemistry, a yeast model system and human cells, to determine how it affects glycoprotein function. Mass Spectrometry Glycoproteomics Most proteins are modified with complex sugar groups that affect their function. We develop new mass spectrometry approaches to systematically and globally identify and quantify proteins and their sugar modifications in fundamental biology and disease. Beer Beer brewing is perhaps the most ancient biotechnology. We use modern analytical techniques to investigate and improve this complex and important process.