Packer's research focuses on glycoconjugates, a topic at the intersection of chemistry and biological sciences which aims to identify and study the function of the collection of glycoproteins, glycolipids and proteoglycans in cells and on cell surfaces. Her research program examines the structure, function and role of glycans in cancer and microbial infections, as well as their application in therapeutics.[2]
Packer started her research career with a PhD from the University of Sydney in 1978.[3] In 1999 she co-founded Proteome Systems Limited, an Australian biotech company which developed glycoanalytical technology and informatics tools. Packer became a professor at Macquarie University in 2007 and in 2017 became a distinguished professor and also became the principal research leader at the Institute for Glycomics at Griffith University.[2]
2015 Macquarie University Research Excellence Award for her work on understanding the role carbohydrates play in the spread of disease[17]
2015 Gold Medal for International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) project "Chlorophyll II: Return of the Hydrogen" (team advisor)[15]
Media
Packer's glycoproteomics work has been reported in The Toronto Star,[18] The Age,[19] BioSpectrum Asia[20] and by the Royal Society of Chemistry.[21] Her work with The Australian biotechnology company Proteome Systems was reported in the New York Times.[22] Packer's work on the role of sugars in a wide range of human diseases was featured in the Macquarie University publication, The Lighthouse.[23]
Publications
Packer has published over 250 journal articles and book chapters, has over 12,000 citations and has an h-index of 61 (as at April 2022).[24] Packer is an editor of the textbook Essentials of Glycobiology.[25]
Selected journal articles
Oliveira, Tiago; Thaysen-Andersen, Morten; Packer, Nicolle H.; Kolarich, Daniel (2021). "The Hitchhiker's guide to glycoproteomics". Biochemical Society Transactions. 49 (4): 1643–1662. doi: 10.1042/BST20200879. PMID34282822.[26]
Varki, Ajit; Cummings, Richard D; Aebi, Markus; Packer, Nicole H; Seeberger, Peter H; Esko, Jeffrey D; Stanley, Pamela; Hart, Gerald; Darvill, Alan; Kinoshita, Taroh; Prestegard, James J (2015). "Symbol Nomenclature for Graphical Representations of Glycans". Glycobiology. 25 (12): 1323–1324. doi:10.1093/glycob/cwv091. PMID26543186.[27]
Jensen, Pia H; Karlsson, Niclas G; Kolarich, Daniel; Packer, Nicolle H (2012). "Structural analysis of N- and O-glycans released from glycoproteins". Nature Protocols. 7 (7): 1299–1310. doi: 10.1038/nprot.2012.063.[28]
Cooper, Catherine A.; Gasteiger, Elisabeth; Packer, Nicolle H. (2001). "GlycoMod - A software tool for determining glycosylation compositions from mass spectrometric data". Proteomics. 1 (2): 340–349. doi: 10.1002/1615-9861(200102)1:2<340::AID-PROT340>3.0.CO;2-B.[29]
Thaysen-Andersen, Morten; Kolarich, Daniel; Packer, Nicolle H. (2021). "Glycomics & Glycoproteomics: From Analytics to Function". Molecular Omics. 17 (1): 8–10. doi: 10.1039/D0MO90019B.[30]
York, William S; Mazumder, Raja; Ranzinger, Rene; Edwards, Nathan; Kahsay, Robel; Aoki-Kinoshita, Kiyoko F; Campbell, Matthew P; Cummings, Richard D; Feizi, Ten; Martin, Maria; Natale, Darren A (2020). "GlyGen: Computational and Informatics Resources for Glycoscience". Glycobiology. 30 (2): 72–73. doi:10.1093/glycob/cwz080. PMID31616925.[31]
^Varki, A.; Cummings, R. D.; Esko, J. D.; Stanley, P.; Hart, G. W.; Aebi, M.; Mohnen, D.; Kinoshita, T.; Packer, N. H.; Prestegard, J. H.; Schnaar, R. L.; Seeberger, P. H. (2022). Varki, Ajit; Cummings, Richard D.; Esko, Jeffrey D.; Stanley, Pamela; Hart, Gerald W.; Aebi, Markus; Mohnen, Debra; Kinoshita, Taroh; Packer, Nicolle H. (eds.). Essentials of Glycobiology (4th ed.). Cold Spring Harbor (NY): Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. doi:10.1101/9781621824213 (inactive 1 November 2024). ISBN978-1-62182-421-3. PMID35536922.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)