"Dr. Yu had an internationally distinguished career where he made pioneering contributions to our understanding of glycoconjugates, complex sugar molecules that facilitate many biological functions, in health and disease. His research program has identified and structurally characterized about 1/3 of all brain gangliosides, provided important insights into the regulatory mechanisms of ganglioside biosynthesis during development, characterized stage-specific glycoconjugates in neural stem cells, and elucidated immunological properties of glycosphingolipids and how their dysregulation contributes to multiple neurological disorders, including Guillain-Barre Syndrome, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease as well as to cholera and cancer." -- taken from the Obituary published in Augusta Chronicle

The GlycoNeuro satellite meeting will address all aspects related to the roles of glycoconjugates in the nervous system, particularly in neurodegenerative diseases. Recent technical developments have highlighted the importance of maintaining a properly checked-and-balanced interactions between the glial cells and neurons. This meeting aims to bring together neuroscientists and glycoscientists to focus on how gangliosides, polysialic acids and a host of other glycoconjugates mediate and impact the interactive network of the central nervous system, with and without engaging an equally diverse range of glycan binding proteins including the siglecs. Other than two Keynote lectures and several invited talks, short oral presentations will be selected from Abstracts submitted for Poster presentation.