Devon Kavanaugh

Biography

Devon Kavanaugh possess a doctorate in glycobiology and am presently carrying out post-doctoral research at the Quadram Institute Bioscience centred on the interactions of commensal bacteria within the gastrointestinal tract, specifically, characterising proteins and enzymes thought to be responsible for niche and species colonisation specificity. His graduate research was comprised of the purification of milk oligosaccharides, which are natural mimics of intestinal mucin glycans, and their impact on the colonisation abilities of bifidobacteria on human intestinal cell lines. The project commenced with the purification and analysis of carbohydrates from the milk of domestic animals. In vivo murine studies of dietary oligosaccharides have given experience in bioinformatic techniques, such as amplicon generation and purification for 454 pyrosequencing, along with its inherent data interpretation and analysis. Other aspects of this research included glycan quantification by various methods (e.g. HPLC or chemical treatment), protein interaction studies (ELISA, SPR), DNA and RNA extraction, primer design, and qRT-PCR. As a result, this created a solid foundation for my research interest in mucin glycans and bacterial colonisation.

Research Interest

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology