This is finally out! ACS Bio & Med Chem Au: the 2024 Rising Stars!

I was honored to be invited to contribute to this special issue, in ACS Bio & Med Chem Au: the 2024 Rising Stars in Biological, Medicinal, and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, showcasing the latest progress from my research group. For this paper, I collaborated with one of my brightest students, Mochen Dong, who is also my third and final PhD student from my time at Cardiff University before transitioning to the University of Manchester. Together, we made an exciting discovery: we identified 6-sulfo-β-GlcNAcases and uncovered two novel sulfate-binding motifs using comparative genomics, structural predictions, and activity-based screening. Our findings not only expand the known microbiota capable of degrading sulfated glycans but also enrich the enzymatic toolkit available for the analysis and synthesis of sulfated oligosaccharides.

Writing, submitting, and publishing this paper was a unique challenge, as it coincided with my maternity leave. Balancing research with the demands of a newborn required immense support from my family. I am deeply grateful to my partner and my mum for stepping in to care for my son, Leo Zallot, allowing me to meet the submission deadline. Their support was instrumental in making this publication possible, and I extended a special acknowledgment to them in this paper: "Y.J. would like to acknowledge the support and patience of her family, especially her newborn son, Leo Zallot, during the preparation of this manuscript."

Read more:

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsbiomedchemau.5c00080?ref=vi_2024-rising-stars.