Our Team

Our Team

JOHN R. ENGEN, Ph.D.

James L. Waters Endowed Chair in Analytical Chemistry
COS Distinguished Professor of Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Dept. of Chemistry & Chemical Biology
Northeastern University
360 Huntington Avenue, MS 412TF
Boston, MA 02115-5000
Phone: 617.373.6046
j.engen [a t] northeastern [d o t] edu

John R. Engen is the James L. Waters Endowed Chair in Analytical Chemistry and a COS Distinguished Professor of Chemistry & Chemical Biology at Northeastern University in Boston. Professor Engen earned two B.S. degrees (one in molecular biology and one in biochemistry) from Union College and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Nebraska (working with David L. Smith). He completed postdoctoral work at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany and at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. In 2002 he became an Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and moved to Northeastern University in 2006. In 2012-2013, he was a Visiting Professor of Biochemistry in the laboratory of Prof. F. Ulrich Hartl at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany; in 2019-2020 he was a Visiting Professor of Cell Biology in the laboratory of Tom Rapoport at Harvard Medical School. Prof. Engen is a Fellow of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), received the 2009 Arthur F. Findeis Award from the American Chemical Society, and served on the Board of Directors for the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS).  At Northeastern University, he has received both the Excellence in Teaching Award (2015) and the Excellence in Research and Creative Activity Award (2021), the highest awards in teaching and research given by the University. In 2019 he was named the James L. Waters Endowed Chair in Analytical Chemistry.

Professor Engen is a recognized expert in the area of understanding proteins and protein conformation with mass spectrometry (MS). He uses hydrogen-deuterium exchange (HDX) to probe conformation and dynamics during various activation states. Proteins that are not amenable to mainstream structural techniques such as X-ray crystallography and NMR can be probed with such methods. Such experiments, among other things, can reveal the effects and locations of protein:ligand binding, be diagnostic for proper protein folding, and be used to determine conformational changes during protein function.

Professor Engen has published nearly 200 papers on the topic of hydrogen exchange in recent years and given hundreds of invited lectures to academia and industry. He has managed many HDX MS projects with industrial partners, both large and small.  He teaches a yearly ASMS short course on protein structural analysis by mass spectrometry. Current research projects in his research laboratory include studies of proteins related to apoptosis, kinases, large proteins and protein complexes, protein folding machinery, and improving the analytical aspects of HDX MS technology including resolving power & commercial availability.

John R. Engen is the James L. Waters Endowed Chair in Analytical Chemistry and a COS Distinguished Professor of Chemistry & Chemical Biology at Northeastern University in Boston. Professor Engen earned two B.S. degrees (one in molecular biology and one in biochemistry) from Union College and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Nebraska (working with David L. Smith). He completed postdoctoral work at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany and at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. In 2002 he became an Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and moved to Northeastern University in 2006. In 2012-2013, he was a Visiting Professor of Biochemistry in the laboratory of Prof. F. Ulrich Hartl at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany; in 2019-2020 he was a Visiting Professor of Cell Biology in the laboratory of Tom Rapoport at Harvard Medical School. Prof. Engen is a Fellow of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), received the 2009 Arthur F. Findeis Award from the American Chemical Society, and served on the Board of Directors for the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS). At Northeastern University, he has received both the Excellence in Teaching Award (2015) and the Excellence in Research and Creative Activity Award (2021), the highest awards in teaching and research given by the University. In 2019 he was named the James L. Waters Endowed Chair in Analytical Chemistry.

Professor Engen is a recognized expert in the area of understanding proteins and protein conformation with mass spectrometry (MS). He uses hydrogen-deuterium exchange (HDX) to probe conformation and dynamics during various activation states. Proteins that are not amenable to mainstream structural techniques such as X-ray crystallography and NMR can be probed with such methods. Such experiments, among other things, can reveal the effects and locations of protein:ligand binding, be diagnostic for proper protein folding, and be used to determine conformational changes during protein function.

Professor Engen has published nearly 200 papers on the topic of hydrogen exchange in recent years and given hundreds of invited lectures to academia and industry. He has managed many HDX MS projects with industrial partners, both large and small.  He teaches a yearly ASMS short course on protein structural analysis by mass spectrometry. Current research projects in his research laboratory include studies of proteins related to apoptosis, kinases, large proteins and protein complexes, protein folding machinery, and improving the analytical aspects of HDX MS technology including resolving power & commercial availability.

Thomas E. Wales, Ph.D.

Research Associate Professor
617.373.7279
t.wales [a t] northeastern [d o t] edu

Daniele Peterle, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow
d.peterle [a t] northeastern [d o t] edu

Bindu Srinivasu, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow
b.srinivasu [a t] northeastern [d o t] edu

Liam O’Malley

B.S. student [Biochemistry]

omalley.li [a t] northeastern [d o t] edu

David DePice

B.S. student [Chemistry]

depice.d [a t] northeastern [d o t] edu

Markus Elbert

B.S. student [Chemistry]

elbert.m [a t] northeastern [d o t] edu

Leona Ripple

B.S. student [Biochemistry]

ripple.l [a t] northeastern [d o t] edu

Alumni

NAME TYPE WENT ON TO
Andrea Pierangelini Visiting Ph.D. Student Returned to University of Padua, Italy
Florian Georgescauld Senior Research Scientist Scientist, Cell Signaling Technology, Danvers, MA
Thomas Botzanowski Postdoctoral Fellow Project Manager, NovAliX, Strasbourg, France
Evan Offord Undergrad Student M.D. Program, Univ of Massachusetts
Roxana Iacob Res. Asst. Professor Scientist, Relay Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA
Isaac Kresse Undergrad Student Ph.D. program, Rockefeller University
Joel Bucci Postdoctoral Fellow Scientist, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Framingham, MA
Jamie Moroco Postdoc / Res. Scientist Research Scientist, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA
Brent Kochert Ph.D. Student Scientist, Merck Research Labs, Kenilworth, NJ
Christopher Wilson Ph.D. Student Technical Specialist, Clark+Elbing LLP, Boston, MA
Charlie Mundorff Undergrad Student The Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA
Nobuyuki Ogi Visiting Scientist Returned to Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Osaka, Japan
Jasmina Prabhakara Undergrad Student Graduate school
Kristian Teichert Undergrad Student Research Assoc, Rubius Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA
Rane Harrison Ph.D. Student Scientist, Codiak BioSciences, Cambridge, MA
Tyler Kolfrat Undergrad Student Physical therapy program, Northeastern University
Greg Pirrone Ph.D. Student Senior Scientist, Merck Research Labs, Rahway, NJ
Brad Stocks Postdoctoral Fellow Visiting Fellow, Health Canada, Ottawa
Justin Roberts Undergrad Student Ph.D. Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
David Glidden Undergrad Student M.D./Ph.D. Program, Brown University
Joomi Ahn Ph.D. Student Principle Scientist, Waters Corporation, Milford, MA
Xiaomeng Shi Postdoctoral Fellow Scientist, Center of Protein Analysis, Tsinghua Univ. China
Billy Smith Undergrad Student M.D. Program, Harvard Medical School
Jing (Susan) Fang Ph.D. Student Postdoctoral Fellow, Amgen, Thousand Oaks, CA
Cary Liptak Undergrad Student Ph.D. Program, Yale University
Elaine Marzluff Visiting Scientist Returned to Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA
Kerry Hassell Postdoctoral Fellow Senior Applications Sci. Thermo Fisher Sci., Franklin, MA
Sean Marcsisin Ph.D. Student Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Bethesda, MD
Christopher Morgan Ph.D. Student Staff Scientist, Genzyme Corporation, Framingham, MA
Jeff Moy Undergrad Student Research Asst., Brigham & Women’s Hosp., Boston, MA
Kelly Reiser M.S. Student Associate Scientist, Biogen-Idec, Cambridge, MA
Damian Houde Ph.D. Student Scientist, Biogen-Idec, Cambridge, MA
Roberto Barberena Undergrad Student Research Assoc., Cell Signaling Technology, Danvers, MA
Kasper Rand Postdoctoral Fellow Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen
Kelly Barhite Undergrad Student Analytical Chemist, Idenix Pharmaceuticals
Brian Miglionico Undergrad Student Quality Control Analyst, Acceleron Pharma Inc.
Melissa Palashoff M.S. Student Scientific Assoc., Novartis Institute of Biomedical Research
Shugui (George) Chen Ph.D. Student Postdoctoral Fellow, Case Western Reserve Univ. SOM
Rimma Pivovarov Undergrad Student Ph.D. program, Columbia University
Nicholas Borotto Undergrad Student Ph.D. program, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
James Hochrein Ph.D. Student Senior Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratory
Sebastien Brier Postdoctoral Dellow Scientist, Proteomics Group, Novartis Vaccines
Jennifer Mitchell Ph.D. Student M.D. Program, University of New Mexico SOM
David Weis Res. Asst. Professor Assistant Professor, University of Kansas
Robert Taylor Undergrad Student Ph.D. Program, University of New Mexico SOM
Tamara Sibray M.S. Student Ph.D. Program, University of Wyoming
Nicole Jersak Undergrad Student M.D./Ph.D. Program, University of New Mexico SOM
Yan Wu Ph.D. Student Research Scientist, KBI Biopharma
Azeem Hasan Res. Asst. Professor Research Associate, Louisiana State University
Suma Kaveti Postdoctoral Fellow Chemical Abstracts Service