Biography

Glen Liszczak is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.  He received his B.S. in Chemistry and Biology from Ramapo College of New Jersey and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania at the Wistar Institute under the supervision of Dr. Ronen Marmorstein.  As a graduate student, Glen used X-ray crystallography and other biochemical and biophysical tools to determine the molecular basis for catalysis and substrate specificity exhibited by various protein-modifying enzymes.  

In 2013, Glen joined the laboratory of Professor Tom Muir as a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University where he employed a wide array of chemical biology techniques, including protein semisynthesis and intracellular protein delivery, to delineate epigenetic mechanisms and their misregulation in cancer.  During his postdoctoral studies, Glen combined protein semi-synthesis with high-throughput biochemistry and cellular biology to study proteins that interact with the genome and regulate gene expression.  

In 2018, Glen joined the faculty at UTSW as an Endowed Scholar.  His lab integrates chemical and biological approaches to understand the biochemical mechanisms through which enigmatic mutations and aberrant protein post-translational modification cascades lead to disease phenotypes.  Current research topics in the lab include epigenetics, chromatin structure, transcriptional regulation, protein and nucleic acid trafficking, and protein post-translational modifications such as mono- and poly-ADP-ribosylation.  Our work has uncovered key mechanisms underlying cancer development, neurodegeneration, and other developmental abnormalities. 

Throughout his career Glen has been the recipient of numerous awards for his research, including the Dr. Monica H.M. Shander Memorial Fellowship, a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, a Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Recruitment of First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty Member Award, a UT System Rising STARs Award, and an American Heart Association Career Development Award. 

Research Interest

  • Cancer biology
  • Chemical biology and protein semi-synthesis
  • Genetic mutations and disease
  • Genome integrity
  • Protein post-translational modifications
  • Transcription regulation and epigenetics

Publications

Featured Publications LegendFeatured Publications

Mutations linked to neurological disease enhance self-association of low-complexity protein sequences.
Zhou X, Sumrow L, Tashiro K, Sutherland L, Liu D, Qin T, Kato M, Liszczak G, McKnight SL, Science 2022 Jul 377 6601 eabn5582
A Protein Semisynthesis-Based Strategy to Investigate the Functional Impact of Linker Histone Serine ADP-Ribosylation.
Tashiro K, Mohapatra J, Brautigam CA, Liszczak G, ACS Chem Biol 2022 Mar
Serine ADP-ribosylation marks nucleosomes for ALC1-dependent chromatin remodeling.
Mohapatra J, Tashiro K, Beckner RL, Sierra J, Kilgore JA, Williams NS, Liszczak G, Elife 2021 Dec 10
Transiently structured head domains control intermediate filament assembly.
Zhou X, Lin Y, Kato M, Mori E, Liszczak G, Sutherland L, Sysoev VO, Murray DT, Tycko R, McKnight SL, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021 Feb 118 8
Acetylation blocks DNA damage-induced chromatin ADP-ribosylation.
Liszczak G, Diehl KL, Dann GP, Muir TW Nat. Chem. Biol. 2018 Sep 14 9 837-840
ISWI chromatin remodellers sense nucleosome modifications to determine substrate preference.
Dann GP, Liszczak GP, Bagert JD, Müller MM, Nguyen UTT, Wojcik F, Brown ZZ, Bos J, Panchenko T, Pihl R, Pollock SB, Diehl KL, Allis CD, Muir TW Nature 2017 08 548 7669 607-611
Genomic targeting of epigenetic probes using a chemically tailored Cas9 system.
Liszczak GP, Brown ZZ, Kim SH, Oslund RC, David Y, Muir TW Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2017 Jan 114 4 681-686
Molecular Basis for Cohesin Acetylation by Establishment of Sister Chromatid Cohesion N-Acetyltransferase ESCO1.
Rivera-Colón Y, Maguire A, Liszczak GP, Olia AS, Marmorstein R J. Biol. Chem. 2016 Dec 291 51 26468-26477
A two-state activation mechanism controls the histone methyltransferase Suv39h1.
Müller MM, Fierz B, Bittova L, Liszczak G, Muir TW Nat. Chem. Biol. 2016 Mar 12 3 188-93
Biochemical and cellular analysis of Ogden syndrome reveals downstream Nt-acetylation defects.
Myklebust LM, Van Damme P, Støve SI, Dörfel MJ, Abboud A, Kalvik TV, Grauffel C, Jonckheere V, Wu Y, Swensen J, Kaasa H, Liszczak G, Marmorstein R, Reuter N, Lyon GJ, Gevaert K, Arnesen T Hum. Mol. Genet. 2015 Apr 24 7 1956-76

Honors & Awards

  • American Heart Association Career Development Award
    (2022)
  • Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Scholar (Recruitment of First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty Members)
    (2018)
  • UT Southwestern Endowed Scholar
    (2018)
  • UT System Rising STARs Award
    (2018)
  • NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award
    (2014)
  • Dr. Monica H.M. Shander Memorial Fellowship
    (2011)
  • NIH Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Fellowship
    (2010)

Professional Associations/Affiliations

  • Princeton University (2013-2018)
  • Ramapo College of New Jersey (2004-2008)
  • University of Pennsylvania (2008-2013)