Sankalp Shukla

Sankalp Shukla is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas, within the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. He leads the Shukla Lab, a multidisciplinary research group focused on membrane biophysics and biochemistry in human health and disease. His work bridges molecular neuroscience, lipid biology, and cellular mechanisms of neurodegeneration.

Education:

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley (2025)
• Ph.D., Physical Chemistry/Membrane Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania (2021)
• Integrated BS-MS, Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (2015)

His research centers on understanding the role of membrane dynamics in neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer's. The lab investigates how disruptions in organelle function, lipid transport, and tau protein propagation contribute to neuronal cell death. Using advanced techniques such as in vitro reconstitution, live-cell imaging, and biophysical manipulation, the team deciphers molecular mechanisms underlying membrane damage and repair.

His recent publications highlight work on tau-induced lysosomal damage, ESCRT-mediated membrane repair, and enzymatic lipid transport—revealing key insights into neurodegeneration and cellular homeostasis. These studies span biophysics, cell biology, and biochemistry, with implications for therapeutic development in Alzheimer's and related disorders.

Scientific Awards:

• Postdoc Achievement Award, UC Berkeley (2024)
• MCB Outstanding Postdoc Award, UC Berkeley (2024)
• BrightFocus Foundation Alzheimer's Disease Research Fellowship (2024)
• Alzheimer's FastTrack Travel Supplement Award (2024)
• Best Poster Award, ASBMB International Conference on ESCRT Biology (2022)
• ASBMB International Conference Travel Award (2022)
• Travel Grant Award, Graduate and Professional Student Assembly, Penn (2019)
• Academic Excellence Award, IIT Kanpur (2012)
• INSPIRE Scholarship, Government of India (2010)

Sankalp Shukla has secured funding from the BrightFocus Foundation for a $200,000 project on the mechanistic basis of tau-induced endolysosomal membrane damage and repair (2024–2026). He is actively mentoring and recruiting undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers. His lab collaborates across disciplines and maintains affiliations with major scientific societies including the Biophysical Society, Society for Neuroscience, ASBMB, ASCB, and the Alzheimer's Association.

The Shukla Lab is dedicated to uncovering fundamental membrane-centered mechanisms that drive disease, with the long-term goal of enabling novel therapeutic interventions for neurodegenerative conditions, cancer, and age-related decline.