Lara Fragapane
Lara Fragapane
PhD Student
Thesis title: Solving the mysteries of human protein N-glycosylation: The Early Lipid-Linked Oligosaccharide Synthesis Pathway
Primary Themes: Structural Biology and Next Generation Chemistry
Franklin supervisors: Dr Liang Wu and Dr Andrew Giltrap
University: University of Oxford
University supervisor: Dr Yin Yao Dong
Her project utilises Franklin’s cutting-edge technologies to yield key structural and mechanistic insights of multi-glycosyltransferase complexes involved in the early N-glycosylation pathway and how they are implicated in Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation.
Lara graduated with a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Bath. During her professional placement year at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), in Grenoble, she developed an interest in structural and molecular biology. Here, she used techniques, including X-ray crystallography, small-angle X-ray scattering and neutron reflectometry to study the therapeutic properties of the polyphenolic compound, curcuminoids. Continuing with a focus in structural biology, her final year research project involved the structural studies of the botulinum neurotoxin serotype B/translocation domain. She is excited to work within an interdisciplinary environment at the Franklin and collaborate with others to address current health research challenges.