Greetings from the Chair
Steve Sucheck
Greetings Everyone!
My name is Steve Sucheck and I am excited to start my new appointment as Chair for ACS CARB. I have summarized some of the division’s 2021 outstanding accomplishments below and provided some highlights of planned activities for 2022.
I look forward to serving the Division in the New Year.
Who are we?
The Division of Carbohydrate Chemistry (CARB) is an eclectic, comprehensive and global technical division of the ACS. The division serves to create a premier society for researchers, educators, and students specializing in the various aspects of carbohydrate-related science. These aspects often include chemistry, medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, structural and molecular biology, biology, analytical, and/or computational methods which are directed toward or involve the study of carbohydrates.
Our mission is to foster and promote the advancement of the field of carbohydrate chemistry and chemical glycobiology by providing community-driven programming with an emphasis on highlighting both leaders and the new investigators in their respective areas of specialization. The division understands the interdisciplinary nature of carbohydrate research and provides a platform for disseminating new findings, a community for forging the relationships needed to work at cutting edge of science and education, and a means to promote and recognize both established and emerging investigators in the glycosciences.
What does the CARB Division do?
- Organize and sponsor CARB programming at ACS National Meetings and Exposition, including special symposia, award symposia, and poster sessions. On occasion, we participate in joint symposia with other divisions, including past and planned joint symposia with CELL and ORGN. Please continue to submit abstracts for ACS CARB programming! In addition, you are welcome to submit proposals to the new Program Chair, Danielle Dube, for future symposia!;
- Organize and sponsor symposia at international meetings dedicated to glycosciences, such as Gordon Research Conferences, International Carbohydrate Symposia, Pacifichem, etc.;
- Produce the biannual ACS CARB Newsletter that is distributed to members a month before the ACS National Meeting;biannual
- Support other ACS symposia relevant to carbohydrate chemistry and chemical glycobiology, including the ACS Division of Professional Relations, ACS Undergraduate Chemistry Students, ACS Regional Meetings, etc.;
- Support other non-ACS regional symposia relevant to carbohydrate chemistry and chemical glycobiology, such as the Midwest Carbohydrate and Glycobiology Symposium and the New England Glyco-Chemistry Meeting;
- Provide opportunities for undergraduate chemists, for example, travel awards and poster awards
- Organize and support award programs, including the Claude S. Hudson Award, the Melville L. Wolfrom Award, the Horace S. Isbell Award, the David Y. Gin New Investigator Award, and the Derek Horton Award in Industrial Carbohydrate Chemistry.
Why You Should Join the CARB Division.
- Network with possible collaborators at ACS National Meetings and Exposition
- Nominate someone or be nominated for a CARB sponsored award
- Access to the Members section of our website, for networking, chemistry discussions and latest news/events
- Advertisement for position openings or seeking new employment
- Receive CARB emails with news as well as reminders of important deadlines
- Receive the CARB Newsletter
CARB activity highlights in 2021 and selected plans for 2022
- ACS CARB prepared a very strong virtual programming during the Spring ACS National meeting which included an Awards Symposia and symposia on Carbohydrates and Infectious Disease, the Italian-American Symposium on Applied and Translational Glycosciences, Chemical Glycobiology and virtual posters. A Special thanks go to the organizers of these impressive symposia.
- ACS CARB prepared in person, hybrid, and virtual options for the Fall National Meeting in Atlanta, GA. These included a hybrid Awards Ceremony and Banquette, as well as a virtual symposium on Frontiers in Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biology (A Graduate Student/Postdoctoral Symposium), Chemistry and Biology of Heparin Sulfate Oligosaccharides and Polysaccharides, Catalytic Approaches to Selective Glycoside Synthesis and posters. Special thanks go to our 2021 Program Chair, Clay Bennett, who coordinated these efforts and to the respective symposium organizers.
- ACS CARB was able to raise significant funds to support the in-person portion of 2021 Fall National ACS Meeting Awards Symposium and Banquet which included past awards winners who could not participate due the cancelling of the Philadelphia ACS meeting in 2020 (due to the emerging Covid pandemic). Special thanks go to our 2021 Immediate Past Chair, Peter Andreana, for organizing the symposium as well as to our Awards and Nominating Committees for their thoughtful work in identifying and selecting past and future awardees.
- ACS CARB financially supported about $20,000 in CARB-related programming activities in 2021. In addition, our volunteer symposium organizers raised thousands of dollars in additional support. Special thanks go to ACS CARB Treasurer Geert-Jan Boons and his volunteer staff for help in managing these activities.
- ACS CARB members including myself organized, in conjunction with several international co-organizers a full week of programing for Pacifichem 2021 which was held virtually in Hawaii. This week included three multiday symposia: Recent Advances in Carbohydrate Chemistry and Chemical Glycobiology, Recent Advances in Glycomics and Glycoproteomics, Advances in Glycan Engineering and Glycans from the Microbial World. Special thanks go to ACS CARB members who devoted their time and talents to the mission of Pacifichem.
- Chair Elect Clay Bennett was awarded a sizable Innovative Project Grant from the ACS Divisional Activities Committee (DAC) related to support for a two-day collaborative symposium between CARB and CELL in the area of polysaccharides, glycoanalytics and glycoscience. ACS CARB looks forward to further join programing with our esteemed colleagues in the ACS CELL Division.
- ACS CARB Continued to make progress with equity and inclusion, with 50% of newly elected position filled by women scholars. In addition, programming for the Spring 2022 ACS National Meeting will include a symposium on “Next Generation Glycoscientists: Glycoscience Research at Predominantly Undergraduate Institutions“. This symposium will bring to the fore a sector of academia that is often overlooked. While programming for the Fall 2022 ACS National Meeting will bring diversity, equity, and inclusion in carbohydrate chemistry and chemical glycobiology to the fore, by including symposia on “Advancing Women’s Health in Glycoscience“, which will highlight areas of women’s health, in which approaches based on carbohydrate chemistry, chemical glycobiology, and glycosciences, broadly defined, are uniquely positioned to produce significant impact in understanding of gender-specific differences in glycome composition to minimize existing disparities in the treatment of commonly shared conditions (e.g, cardiovascular diseases, or diabetes). Also planned is the “Bertram Oliver Fraser-Reid Memorial Symposium on Synthetic & Medicinal Carbohydrate Chemistry“, which will “honor the career of Professor Bert Fraser-Reid and his groundbreaking developments in carbohydrate chemistry and biochemistry. The sessions will bring together both established and early career scientist in talks that will highlight work that was inspired in part by Professor Fraser-Reid’s creativity and many advancements in carbohydrate synthesis, reaction mechanisms, structure-activity relationships and therapeutic drug discovery for third-world diseases”.
- The ACS CARB Executive Committee participated in several thoughtful conversations related to a name change to Division of Carbohydrate Chemistry & Chemical Glycobiology (CARB) which is now being advanced to the ACS DAC for approval to submit to Council a motion for action. Special thanks go to our 2020-2021 Chair, Alexei Demchenko, who spearheaded the effort. If all goes well, this name change will become official in January 2023. Please share this exciting news with glycobiologists and encourage them to join the CARB community if they are not our members yet.
- ACS CARB continued its close involvement with the U.S. Advisory Committee for the International Carbohydrate Symposia (USACICS) by soliciting nominations for the 2022 Whistler Award. We encourage everyone to participate in the virtual ICS 2022 to be held in Florianopolis, Brazil
- ACS CARB External Programming Committee recommended ACS CARB speakers for the Canadian GlycoNet (https://canadianglycomics.ca/training/webinar-series/) and the European Glycoscience Community Webinar Series (https://euroglyco.com/egc-webinar/egc-2021-webinar-series/) offered by European CarboMet and RSC Carbohydrate group, special thanks go to External Programming Committee members: Pumtiwitt McCarthy, Matt Macauley, Myles Poulin, Hien Nguyen, Charlie Fehl, Tania Lupoli, and Christina Woo.
How to Get Involved
We are a volunteer organization and encourage you to get engaged.
-Attend or submit an abstract to present at CARB sessions at ACS National Meetings.
-Submit a symposium proposal for CARB session at an ACS National Meeting or an ACS Regional Meeting.
-Request financial support for conferences and symposia that you are planning to organize within or outside the ACS.
-Nominate someone for a CARB professional, student and postdoc, or publication award (See Awards & Fellowships on the CARB website).
-Volunteer to run for an elected position on the CARB Executive Committee.
-Help us with our social media presence.
-Ask me or any Executive Committee member to implement your idea(s) to continually shape CARB for the future.
For more information, contact any Executive Committee member.
I look forward to continuing serving you and our carbohydrate community. Please feel free to share this message with anybody who may benefit from the information provided herein or would be interested in joining the CARB Division.
Your annual dues ($12.50 for regular members, $7 for students) help us, as a non-profit organization run by volunteers, to support our mission and run the excellent programs described within.
***You do not have to be an ACS member to become a member and supporter of the CARB Division! In addition, full ACS members receive hundreds of dollars in discounts on ACS meeting registration.
