 Dear Meeting Attendees, Welcome to the 2022 Society for Glycobiology Annual Meeting, reloaded in a virtual format. The overarching theme of this meeting is “Glycobiology: Crossroads of Innovation and Interdisciplinary Research.” This theme highlights one of the most prominent and unique features of glycoscience—the research involving many scientific areas and disciplines, which stimulates innovative ideas and collaborations across different fields. The meeting program is designed to emphasize some of the most prominent directions in the field and highlight recent exciting studies on glycan functions in biology, biomedicine, and biotechnology. The scientific sessions will cover a wide range of cutting-edge research areas, such as chemical biology approaches to uncovering molecular mechanisms of glycan functions; the role of glycans in development and physiology, in the immune system, and in pathogen-host interactions; neuroglycobiology; glycopathologies; glycan biosynthesis, trafficking, and signaling; and novel emerging approaches in glycoscience. A special feature this year is an International Glycoconjugate Organization guest session on the diversity of glycan structures and pathways. The two satellite meetings, Glyco in Biotechnology, organized by Parastoo Azadi, and Glycoscience Tools and Biological Functions, organized by Richard Cummings and the National Center for Functional Glycomics, will continue the popular tradition of featuring innovations in glycoscience applications for biomedicine and biotechnology. The breadth of topics, innovative approaches, and collaborative nature of the projects that will be presented at the meeting underscore the leading position of glycobiology in modern science and biotechnology.
My special welcome to junior researchers, students, and postdoctoral trainees, who are just starting their exploration of the glycan universe. The meeting features the poster competition for trainees and junior investigators, which will be facilitated by a virtual platform that supports live interactions during poster presentations. The Program Committee awarded many short talks to junior researchers based on submitted abstracts. We congratulate these outstanding junior investigators and look forward to the poster competition and presenting poster awards in the end of the meeting. Our meeting will include special sessions to honor outstanding glycoscientists and provide the opportunity for them to present the award lectures: Gabriel Rabinovich, winner of the Karl Meyer Lectureship Award; Anne Imberty, winner of the Rosalind Kornfeld Lifetime Achievement Award; and James Paulson, winner of the President’s Innovator Award. Avci Fikri will be recognized as an outstanding younger investigator by the Glycobiology Significant Achievement Award, sponsored by Oxford University Press. Carlito Lebrilla will receive the MCP/ASBMB Lectureship Award. The Distinguished Service Award will be presented to Parastoo Azadi for outstanding contribution to the glycobiology community. I congratulate all our awardees and wish them further success in their professional careers. In response to developments in the scientific environment, the Program Committee scheduled special events to update the glycocommunity on new grant opportunities and regulations. These events include a Q&A NIH session organized by Pamela Marino and a FASEB presentation on DataWorks, an initiative that helps researchers with data management. I hope that the attendees will find these events helpful for facilitating their professional success. Big thanks go to the Program Committee for its invaluable collaboration on organizing this meeting and the SfG officers and board of directors, who provided essential support and advice during the planning process. I greatly appreciate the support of MSP, especially invaluable in the wake of the cancellation of the in-person meeting due to hurricane Ian. Last but not least, I am happy to acknowledge generous support from our sponsors, which is essential for the Society. Please visit their virtual presentations, demo sessions, and booths and express appreciation for their sponsorships. I hope that this meeting will provide the attendees with the opportunity to catch up with most recent developments in the field and reconnect with the glycocommunity in the ‘virutal reality’. I wish all the attendees an enjoyable and productive time. Sincerely,
 Vlad Panin
President of the Society for Glycobiology
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