Elizabeth FICKO-BLEAN

I am a structural glycobiologist with a strong biochemistry background focused on protein-carbohydrate interactions. I am currently growing my own research group, Molecular Interactions with Red Algal Matrices (IMMAR), within UMR 8227 at the Station Biologique de Roscoff.  I have two main research axes. The first is understanding marine bacterial degradation of macroalgal polysaccharides. The second is building the pathway of carrageenan biosynthesis through characterization of the structure and function of red algal extracellular matrix biosynthetic enzymes. 

During my PhD and first post-doctoral fellowship in Alisdair Boraston’s lab at the University of Victoria, Canada, I studied the interactions between bacterial pathogens and host animal glycans resulting in three extremely comprehensive structural and functional analyses of multi-modular bacterial virulence factors.  After visiting the Station Biologique de Roscoff on the west coast of France for collaborative purposes, I was struck by the unexpected similarities between sulfated animal glycans and sulfated macroalgal extracellular matrix (cell wall) polysaccharides.  I became intrigued by the similarities in carbohydrate-degradation between bacteria from animal hosts and marine bacteria given that they survive in such disparate niche environments. Thus, for my second post-doctoral fellowship with Mirjam Czjzek and Gurvan Michel in the Marine Glycobiology group at the Station Biologique de Roscoff I chose to study the degradation of complex sulfated macroalgal matrix polysaccharides by marine bacteria. These enzymes show exquisite specificities for their target complex carbohydrates and the results from this post-doctoral fellowship revealed unique and industrially useful activities as well as contributing to our understanding on the processing of coastal algal biomass.  In 2017 I became a permanent scientific researcher at the Station Biologique de Roscoff.  I have expanded my studies to include both the biosynthesis and breakdown of macroalgal extracellular matrix polysaccharides which led to the creation of the Molecular Interactions with Red Algal Matrices (IMMAR) group which I am leading. I am also a senior curator for CAZypedia and am responsible for CAZypedia CBM, crowd contributed wiki-like pages describing the different families of carbohydrate-binding modules. 

CAREER SUMMARY

Scientific Researcher and Team Leader 

Molecular interactions with red algal matrices (Interactions moléculaires avec les matrices d’algues rouges, IMMAR), UMR 8227/LBI2M
CNRS-Station Biologique de Roscoff, Roscoff, France (2025-present)

Scientific Researcher 

Marine Glycobiology Laboratory of Dr. Mirjam Czjzek, UMR 8227/LBI2M
CNRS-Station Biologique de Roscoff, Roscoff, France (2017-2024)

• HDR -Sciences de la vie et de la santé, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France ‘The molecular determinants of protein-carbohydrate interactions with complex animal and algal glycans’.

Senior Post-Doctoral Fellow

Marine Glycobiology Laboratory of Dr. Mirjam Czjzek and Dr. Gurvan Michel, UMR 8227/LBI2M
CNRS-Station Biologique de Roscoff, Roscoff, France (2012-2017)

Post-Doctoral Fellow

Laboratory of Dr. Alisdair Boraston 
University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada (2009-2012)

PhD Biochemistry

Laboratory of Dr. Alisdair Boraston 
University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada (2003-2009)                                                                                 

Ph.D. Thesis: Structural and functional studies on secreted glycoside hydrolases produced by the bacterial pathogen Clostridium perfringens

BSc Honours, Thesis Project

Laboratory of Dr. Natalie Strynadka
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada (2002-2003)