In 1929, Claude S. Hudson, who had studied with Nernst and van't Hoff, became Head
of the Division of Chemistry in the then Hygienic Laboratory, later to evolve into
the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Basic biochemistry oriented chemistry of
carbohydrates was Hudson's major interest. His work on the relationship between
optical rotation and glycoside configuration is well known. In addition, Hudson
and his coworkers contributed enormously to the chemistry of saccharides and carbohydrate-specific
enzymes. The list of members of that laboratory reads like a who-is-who in early
carbohydrate chemistry, and includes Montgomery, Pacsu, Purves, Hann, Richtmyer,
Fletcher and many more. In 1951, when Hudson retired, H. G. Fletcher became Chief
of the group, now called the Section on Carbohydrates. He continued the outstanding
studies on reaction mechanisms, the syntheses of important compounds, such as nucleosides,
as well as the fundamental chemistry of ribose and deoxy-ribose. Fletcher and R.
K. Ness, his right hand man, as well as Nelson K. Richtmyer, trained a large number
of young scientists under the auspices of the
Training Program at the NIH. When Fletcher died in 1973 at the young age
of 56, one of his associates, Cornelis (Neil) P. J. Glaudemans, became Chief of
the Section. Neil was trained as a carbohydrate chemist by Tore E. Timell during
his doctoral studies in Canada, and later had spent post-doctoral time with America's
foremost immunochemist Michael Heidelberger. When he joined Fletcher’s Section he
began work on the interactions of bacterial carbohydrate antigens with immunoglobulins
on the molecular level. The Section's interest in this area became firmly established
and led to characterization of monoclonal anti-carbohydrate antibodies and the development
of work on vaccines. After Neil retired in 1998, his associate since the early '80s,
Pavol
(Paul) Kovac, trained at Purdue University in R. L. Whistler’s lab, took
over the group. While the group was downsized to a total of four members, it’s interests
became more oriented towards practical utilization of synthetic carbohydrates as
tools in the life sciences. The Section is currently engaged mainly in development
of conjugate vaccines for bacterial diseases from synthetic carbohydrate antigens.
This involves work on new protocols in syntheses and functionalization of carbohydrates,
studies of fundamentals affecting conjugation, and synthesis of constructs that
can be used as experimental vaccines. In addition, the Section is looking into developing
oligosaccharide-based inhibitors of the biosynthesis of globotriaosylceramide (Gb3)
in order to achieve more effective therapy, than the existing enzyme-replacement
therapy, for patients with Fabry disease. The space allocated to the group is tight
but, as many times in the past, we are willing to squeeze in a competent scientist
with the ability to bring along his/her own funds and would like to spend some time
working with us as a Special Volunteer. We trust that our Institute would recognize
the respect the Section has earned among scientists in the carbohydrate field, as
well as the excellent reviews the group has been receiving from the Board of Scientific
Councilors over a number of years, and hope for brighter times to come as far as
funding is concerned. It would be a loss to all involved, including NIH and the
scientific community worldwide, if the oldest carbohydrate group in the world were
to cease to exist with the present Chief's retirement. Paul is not looking forward
to that day because, as he often mentions, while he is in the retirement age, he
is not in the retirement mood. The work of the group is augmented by many collaborations
within and outside the NIH, in the United States of America and around the world.
