Matthew D. Shoulders

Matthew D. Shoulders is the Class of 1942 Professor of Chemistry at MIT, holding the MacVicar Faculty Fellowship. He leads the Shoulders Laboratory, which focuses on understanding cellular protein folding mechanisms and developing next-generation protein engineering techniques. His research addresses biotechnology challenges, including improving enzymes for carbon capture and combating collagenopathies. He is affiliated with MIT’s Department of Chemistry, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

Research interests span protein folding, proteostasis networks, viral evolution, and directed evolution applications. Notable projects include studying how chaperones impact oncogene mutations and RNA viruses, and engineering enzymes for climate-resilient agriculture. His lab uses CRISPR/Cas9 and advanced directed evolution tools for biotechnological innovations.

Publications highlight contributions to protein stability, viral immune evasion, and collagenopathies. Recent work includes engineering oxygen-resistant RuBisCO and elucidating HIV envelope protein evolution under proteostatic constraints. Awards include the MacVicar Faculty Fellowship and the Class of 1942 Professorship.

As a mentor, he advises MIT graduate students and postdocs across chemistry, biology, and engineering. The lab collaborates with institutions like Massachusetts General Hospital and Stanford University. Current projects focus on ER stress pathways in fibrosis, zinc metabolism in liver disease, and ER chaperone modulation for collagenopathies.