We use medicinal chemistry to probe how gut microbes interact with host glycans

Sulfated glycans are a major structural and functional component of the gut. We focus on enzymes that act as key check points in symbiosis and dysbiosis.

Selected Publications

  1. Luis, A. S. et al. A Single Sulfatase Is Required to Access Colonic Mucin by a Gut Bacterium.
    Nature 2021, 598 (7880), 332–337.
  2. Luis, A. S. et al. Sulfated Glycan Recognition by Carbohydrate Sulfatases of the Human Gut Microbiota.
    Nat. Chem. Biol. 2022, 18 (8), 841–849.
  3. Crawford, C. J. et al. Arylsulfamates Inhibit Colonic Bacteroidota Growth Through a Sulfatase-Independent Mechanism.
    Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2025, 122 (28), e2414331122.