Schuyler Van Engelenburg

Associate Professor

Faculty
College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Biological Sciences
Molecular & Cellular Biophysics

Seeley G. Mudd Building, 2101 E. Wesley Ave. Denver, CO 80208

What I do

Researching the mechanisms of viral biogenesis and educating the next generation of virologists and cellular biophysicits.

Specialization(s)

virology, cellular biophysics, imaging

Professional Biography

I have an interdisciplinary background in the fields of virology, cellular biology, chemistry, and biophysics. My post-doctoral work at the National Institutes of Health focused on understanding how a single HIV particle is formed in an infected cell using single molecule imaging approaches. Here at DU I am focused on developing new imaging technologies to better understand how single viruses are "born", while also teaching both undergraduate and graduate students the fields of virology and cellular biophysics.

Degree(s)

Ph.D., Biochemistry, Universit y of Colorado, 2010
BS, Chemistry, Fort Lewis College, 2005

Professional Affiliations

American Society for Microbiology
Biophysical Society
American Society of Virology

Research

Viral pathogens still plague our modern society despite the promise of highly effective therapies. Tremendous advances in our understanding of the genetics, biochemistry, and cellular pathology of viral infections are, however, beginning to fill the gaps in our knowledge and leading to new antiviral therapies. Nevertheless, many gaps remain in our understanding of the nanoscale and molecular dynamics of viral entry, replication, and assembly. As such, my laboratory focuses on developing cutting-edge multidisciplinary techniques to understand the host-viral interface on a truly molecular level. Specifically, this includes advanced superresolution microscopy techniques, protein chemistry and probe development, and computational image analysis to quantitatively understand the cellular, biochemical, and genetic drivers of HIV-1 assembly. To this end, my research is aimed at constructing molecularly accurate spatial and temporal models for HIV biogenesis. It is my hope that by pinpointing the weaknesses and dependencies of HIV assembly, that future research will lead to the development of new antiviral therapies targeting the assembly stage of the infection cycle.

Areas of Research

Virus Assembly

Single Molecule Imaging Approaches

Cellular Biophysics

Key Projects

Identifying determinants of HIV-1 responsible for the nanoscale distribution and dynamics of virus assembly
Defining the three-dimensional organization and dynamics of HIV-1 envelope using superresolution microsopy
Boettcher Foundations Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Award

Featured Publications

Fernandez-de Céspedes, M. V., Hoffman, H. K., Carter, H., Simons, L. M., Naing, L., Ablan, S. D., et al. (2022). Rab11-FIP1C is dispensable for HIV-1 replication in primary CD4+ T cells, but its role is cell type dependent in immortalized human T-cell lines. Journal of Virology, 96(23), e0087622. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.00876-22

Hoffman, H. K., Aguilar, R. S., Clark, A. R., Groves, N. ., Pezeshkian, N., Bruns, M. M., & Van Engelenburg, S. (2022). Endocytosed HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein traffics to Rab14+ late endosomes and lysosomes to regulate surface levels in T-cell lines. Journal of Virology, 96(14), e0076722. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.00767-22

Snetkov, X., Haider, T., Messner, D., Groves, N., Van Engelenburg, S., & Jolly, C. (2022). A conserved tryptophan in the envelope cytoplasmic tail regulates HIV-1 assembly and spread. Viruses, 14(1), 129. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3390/v14010129

Xu, C. S., Pang, S., Shtengel, G., Muller, A., Ritter, A. T., Hoffman, H. K., et al. (2021). An open-access volume electron microscopy atlas of whole cells and tissues. Nature, 599(147-151). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03992-4

Fernandez, M. V., Hoffman, H. K., Pezeshkian, N., Tedbury, P. R., van Engelenburg, S. B., & Freed, E. O. (2020). Elucidating the basis for permissivity of the MT-4 T-cell line to replication of an HIV-1 mutant lacking the gp41 cytoplasmic tail. Journal of Virology, 94(23), e01334-20. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.01334-20

Groves, N. S., Bruns, M. M., & van Engelenburg, S. B. (1969). A Quantitative Live-Cell Superresolution Imaging Framework for Measuring the Mobility of Single Molecules At Sites of Virus Assembly. Pathogens, 9(11), 972.

Pezeshkian, N., Groves, N. S., & Van Engelenburg, S. (2019). Single molecule imaging of HIV-1 Envelope dynamics and Gag lattice association exposes determinants responsible for virus incorporation. Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences U.S.A., 116(50), 25269-25277.

Buttler, C. A., Pezeshkian, N., Norman, S., Fernandez, M. V., Aaron, J., Freed, E. O., & Van Engelenburg, S. (2018). Single molecule fate of HIV-1 envelope reveals late-stage viral lattice incorporation. Nature Communications, 9(1), 1861.

Lippincott-Schwartz, J., Freed, E. O., & Van Engelenburg, S. (1969). A Consensus View of ESCRT-Mediated HIV-1 Abscission. Annual Reviews in Virology, 4(1), 309-325.

Paez Segala, G. G., Shtengel, G., Sochaki, K., Sun, M., Taraska, J., van Engelenburg, S. B., et al. (Eds.). (2017). Diverse protocols for correlative super-resolution fluorescence imaging and electron microscopy of chemically fixed samples. Nature Protocols, 12(5), 916-946.

Presentations

Van Engelenburg, S. (2019). Spying on HIV-1 Envelope to uncover the mechanisms of virus incorporation. Cold Spring Harbor: Retroviruses. CSHL.

Van Engelenburg, S. (2019). Pushing the Envelope: Toward a Nanoscale Model of HIV-1 Biogenesis. HHMI Janelia Advanced Microscopy Conference. Ashburn, VA: Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Van Engelenburg, S. (2018). Single trimer fate of HIV-1 Envelope during virus assembly. 2018 International Workshop on: gp41 Cytoplasmic Tail Structure and Function. Frederick, MD, USA: National Cancer Institute.

Van Engelenburg, S. (2018). Pushing the Envelope: Toward a Nanoscale Model of HIV-1 Assembly. Biophysical Society 62nd Annual Meeting. San Francisco, CA: Biophysical Society.

Van Engelenburg, S. (2015). 3D Multicolor HIV Biogenesis Imaging using Single Cluster Reconstruction. SUPER-RESOLUTION MICROSCOPY IN INFECTION AND IMMUNITY SYMPOSIUM. Lisbon, Portugal: Gulbenkian Institute.

Awards

Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, University of Denver, NSM
Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Award, Boettcher Foundation
Advanced Imaging Center Grant, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Boettcher Foundation Collaboration Grant, Boettcher Foundation
NICHD Mentor of the Year Award, National Institute of Child Health and Development