Microbial carbohydrates and carbohydrate-binding proteins are essential players in the infection process, but the underlying molecular and cellular events are still largely unknown. Our aim is to understand the adhesive mechanisms and the consequence of host-microbe interactions on the immune system. Studies involve human commensal and pathogenic bacteria, viruses and parasitic protozoa, with a view to investigating the impact of diet on the gut microbiome and to identifying new drug targets and developing potential drug candidates. These studies also link to work on microbial antibiotic biosynthesis, which in turn involves chemical and enzymatic synthesis, coupled with computational chemistry and structural biology. Further studies are investigating microbial carbohydrate metabolism more generally in order to identify enzymes for use in biocatalysis, for instance in relation to starch and glycogen metabolism and the generation of novel carbohydrate biopolymers for drug delivery and nanoscience applications.