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Professor Boons is a professor at both Utrecht University and the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center of the University of Georgia. The Haworth Award recognises sustained internationally recognised contributions to carbohydrate chemistry, and was founded in 1969 to commemorate Sir Norman Haworth (president of the Chemical Society 1944-46).

The Award Lecture is delivered in alternate years during the ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø Carbohydrate Group's autumn meeting. Nominations were assessed by an international panel of leading experts in the fields of carbohydrate research.

Professor Boons is recognised for his sustained and internationally recognised contributions to the chemoenzymatic synthesis and application of complex glycans, which have transformed modern carbohydrate chemistry and glycoscience.

Geert-Jan Boons

Welcoming the award, Professor Boons said: "It is an honour to receive an award named after one of the most influential early pioneers of carbohydrate and natural product chemistry.

"Actually, I started my independent career working in the Haworth Building of the University of Birmingham, which makes receiving this award extra special. Throughout my career, I have had the good fortune to collaborate with many talented PhD students, postdocs and technical staff to whom I would like to attribute all the achievements of my lab."

Professor Clare Mahon, Chair of the Carbohydrate Interest Group, said: "I am delighted that the ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø Carbohydrate Group is recognising the outstanding contributions of Professor Boons to carbohydrate chemistry and glycobiology with the Haworth Award.

"His work has transformed access to structurally defined carbohydrates and glycoconjugates through powerful chemical and chemoenzymatic strategies, enabling complex glycans to be prepared and studied with a level of precision that has advanced both fields."

Professor Boons received his MSc in Chemistry in 1987 and PhD in synthetic carbohydrate chemistry in 1991 from the State University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He worked for seven years in the UK, first as a postdoctoral fellow in Imperial College London and University of Cambridge, and then as a lecturer and a professor at the University of Birmingham.

In 1998 he joined the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center and Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, USA, where he was later appointed Franklin Professor of Chemistry and then UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor in Biochemical Sciences. In 2015 he also joined Utrecht University as Professor of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery. His research has been recognised internationally by prizes including the Whistler Award and the Carbohydrate Research Award.

Through his research, Professor Boons has developed chemical and enzymatic methods that make it possible to prepare large collections of glycans and glycoconjugates of unprecedented complexity. 

Biological studies using these synthetic compounds have resulted in a better understanding of infectious, immunological, and inflammatory processes, which has contributed to the development of vaccines, immune modulators, and diagnostics.

Professor Boons’ work has driven major advances in glycoscience, from fundamental methodology to biomedical application, and has been highly influential on the field through extensive impactful publications, methodologies and inventions. Through sustained innovation, broad impact, and strong translational relevance, he has significantly shaped modern carbohydrate chemistry and its applications in human health.

Details for the delivery of his award lecture will be announced through the ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø in due course.