On September 24 and 25, 2025, the Nagoya University and Gifu University Institute for Glyco-Core Research (iGCORE) hosted the Glyco-Core Symposium 2025. Held at Nagoya University’s Toyoda Auditorium, the international symposium was jointly organized with J-GlycoNet (Joint Usage/Research Center Glyco Science Cooperative Network); the Human Glycome Atlas Project (HGA); the Convolution of Informatics and Biomedical Sciences on Glocal Alliances (CIBoG); and the Nagoya University Graduate Program of Transformative Chem-Bio Research (GTR).
The annual symposium aims to disseminate the activities of iGCORE both within Japan and abroad, as well as to promote the study of glycans from various interdisciplinary perspectives. This was the second year that the symposium took place, with the event’s 373 participants gathering from throughout the world.
At the beginning of the event, Tokai National Higher Education and Research System (THERS) Chancellor Seiichi Matsuo, Nagoya University President Naoshi Sugiyama, and Gifu University President Kazuhiro Yoshida greeted the participants. Nagoya University Vice President Kenji Kadomatsu, the director of iGCORE, then provided an overview of the Human Glycome Atlas Project.
The keynote lecture, “Insights from High-throughput Glycomics,” was given by Dr. Manfred Wuhrer from Leiden University, and the symposium included six sessions led by prominent researchers working not only in glycan research but also in various related fields, fostering the active exchange of ideas. Each session’s topics and speakers were as follows:
- “Human Glycome Atlas Project Topics”: Dr. Hiroyuki Kaji (Nagoya University) and Dr. Morten Thaysen-Andersen (Macquarie University, Nagoya University)
- “Innovative Structural Analysis”: Dr. Stacy Malaker (Yale University) and Dr. Yasushi Ishihama (Kyoto University)
- “J-GlycoNet Topics”: Dr. Koichi Furukawa (Chubu University) and Dr. Toshiyuki Murai (Osaka University)
- “Chemistry”: Dr. Antonio Molinaro (University of Naples Federico II) and Dr. Yukari Fujimoto (Keio University)
- “Metabolism and Disease”: Dr. Karin Hoffmeister (Medical College of Wisconsin) and Dr. Yukiko Yoshida (Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science)
- “Glycogene Therapy”: Dr. Ryan Weiss (University of Georgia) and Dr. Hiderou Yoshida (University of Hyogo)
The symposium also featured a poster session in which 165 posters were displayed by researchers selected by J-GlycoNet. The event provided a collegial atmosphere for the international exchange of knowledge.
