Ron Lee Schnaar, PhD
- Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Faculty
Languages
- English
Gender
MaleAbout Ron Lee Schnaar
Professional Titles
- John J. Abel Distinguished Service Professor of Pharmacology
Primary Academic Title
Professor of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences
Background
Dr. Ronald Schnaar is the John Jacob Abel Professor of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences and Professor of Neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
His team studies glycans and glycan-binding proteins as therapeutic targets in inflammatory diseases, Alzheimer's disease, and ganglioside functions in the brain.
Dr. Schnaar received his undergraduate degree in Cellular Biology from the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. He completed postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins and a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Schnaar joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 1979.
Dr. Schnaar has served as President of the Society for Glycobiology, Editor-in-chief of the journal Glycobiology, board member of FASEB, and director of the Pharmacology Graduate Program at Johns Hopkins.
His work has been recognized with various honors, including the Karl Meyer Award from the Society for Glycobiology and the Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Centers and Institutes
Recent News Articles and Media Coverage
Additional Academic Titles
Professor of Neuroscience
Contact for Research Inquiries
Wood Basic Science Building
725 North Wolfe Street
Baltimore, MD 21205
Phone: (410) 955-8392
Fax: (410) 955-3023
schnaar@jhu.edu
Research Interests
Cell-cell interactions in the control of inflammation, Cell-cell interactions in the nervous system, Glycobiology, Neuroglycobiology
Lab Website
Ronald Schnaar Lab - Lab Website
- The Ronald Schnaar Lab is involved in the rapidly expanding field of glycobiology, which studies cell surface glycans, lectins, and their roles in cell physiology. Current projects in our lab study include (1) Glycans and glycan-binding proteins in inflammatory lung diseases, (2) Ganglioside function in the brain, and (3) HIV-Tat and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders.
Research Summary
Dr. Schnaar's research focuses on:
Cell-cell interactions in inflammation – Engaging the lectin Siglec-8 on the surface of human eosinophils, basophils, and mast cells results in apoptosis and inhibition of immune mediator release, inhibiting allergic inflammation. His team has identified glycan structures that bind to Siglec-8 and that represent lead compounds for glycan-based asthma therapy, including endogenous counter-receptors in human airways that control eosinophilic inflammation.
Sialoglycans in the control of nervous system proteinopathies. Immune inhibitory Siglecs are expressed on brain microglia, where they regulate the clearance of misfolded proteins. Key to this interaction are endogenous brain sialoglycans that engage microglial Siglecs. Knowledge of these structures and their expression in human proteinopathies such as Alzheimer's Disease promises new avenues to alter disease progression.
Gangliosides are a class of sialoglycans that represent major molecular determinants on the surfaces of all mammalian cells, but particularly nerve cells. Gangliosides bind specifically to their own cell surface proteins and proteins on other cells to regulate nervous system functions. Chemical biology probes are being used to identify the mammalian ganglioside interactome.
Selected Publications
Schnaar RL. Gangliosides of the vertebrate nervous system. J Mol Biol 428:3325-3336, 2016
Büll C, Nason R, Sun L, Van Coillie J, Madriz Sørensen D, Moons SJ, Yang Z, Arbitman S, Fernandes SM, Furukawa S, McBride R, Nycholat CM, Adema GJ, Paulson JC, Schnaar RL, Boltje TJ, Clausen H, Narimatsu Y. Probing the binding specificities of human Siglecs by cell-based glycan arrays. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 118:e2026102118. 2021
Gonzalez-Gil A, Li TA, Porell RN, Fernandes SM, Tarbox HE, Lee HS, Aoki K, Tiemeyer M, Kim J, Schnaar RL. Isolation, identification and characterization of the human airway ligand for the eosinophil and mast cell immunoinhibitory receptor Siglec-8. J Allergy Clin Immunol 147:1442-1452. 2021
Li TA, Schnaar RL. Congenital Disorders of Ganglioside Biosynthesis. Prog Mol Biol Transl Sci 156:63-82, 2018.
Honors
- Karl Meyer Award, Society for Glycobiology, 11/2/14
- Program of Excellence Award in Glycosciences, National Heart, 1/1/11
- Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award (NINDS, NIH, 1/1/05
- Graduate Student Teaching Award, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 1/1/88
- Faculty Research Award, American Cancer Society, 1/1/84
- Junior Faculty Research Award, American Cancer Society, 1/1/81
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, American Cancer Society, 1/1/78
- Baccalaureate Degree - Highest Honors, 1/1/72
Graduate Program Affiliations
Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences
Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Professional Activities
- FASEB Journal, Editorial Board, 1/1/12
- Glycobiology, Editor in chief, 1/1/01 - 1/1/10
- Glycomed Inc., Scientific Advisory Board, 1/1/89 - 1/1/94
- Glycominds Ltd., Scientific Advisory Board, 1/1/01 - 1/1/03
- Journal of Biological Chemistry, Editorial Board, 1/1/97 - 1/1/02
- National Research Council (Canada), Advisory Board, 1/1/05 - 1/1/11
- NHLBI Programs of Excellence in Glycosciences, Steering Committee, 1/1/11
- NIGMS, Steering Committee, 1/1/02 - 1/1/12
- Physiological Chemistry Study Section, Chair, 1/1/92 - 1/1/94
- Society for Glycobiology, President, 1/1/05
- The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Director, 1/1/99 - 1/1/06
Additional Training
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 1977; National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 1979