Wesley I. Sundquist is an American

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

. Sundquist is Samuels Chair, Distinguished Professor, and Chair of th
University of Utah Department of Biochemistry
Sundquist's research focuses on cellular, molecular and structural biology of retroviruses, particularly Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and on cellular membrane remodeling by the Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport (

ESCRT The endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT) proteins are part of a group of machines inside cells that help sort and move other proteins. One of their main jobs is to form structures called multivesicular bodies (MVBs) which help ...

) pathway.

Early life, education, and career

Sundquist was born in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

on September 11, 1959. He grew up in Saint Paul and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He received his bachelor's degree in chemistry from

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1866, the main campus is between Northfield and the approximately Carleton ...

in Minnesota in 1981. Sundquist completed a PhD in chemistry at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

with Stephen J. Lippard in 1988. He was then a postdoctoral fellow at the

MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology The Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) is a research institute in Cambridge, England, involved in the revolution in molecular biology which occurred in the 1950–60s. Since then it has remained a major medical r ...

Cambridge, England Cambridge ( ) is a city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of ...

with Sir Aaron Klug. In 1992, Sundquist joined th
University of Utah Department of Biochemistry

Research

The HIV capsid encloses the viral RNA genome and facilitates viral replication. Sundquist and colleagues defined the unusual fullerene cone architecture of the viral capsid and identified essential functions of the capsid in HIV-1 replication, which helped enable development of the potent and long-lasting

Lenacapavir Lenacapavir, sold under the brand name Sunlenca, is an antiretroviral medication used to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS. It is taken by mouth or by subcutaneous injection. Lenacapavir is a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) capsid inhibit ...

capsid inhibitor by

Gilead Sciences Gilead Sciences, Inc. () is an American biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Foster City, California, that focuses on researching and developing antiviral drugs used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, influenza, and CO ...

. The Sundquist lab also reconstituted capsid-dependent HIV reverse transcription and integration in a cell-free system. To spread infection, viruses must shed from infected cells. Sundquist and colleagues found that retroviruses like HIV exit cells using the host

pathway. They also used this information to design new proteins that can assemble into nanocages, exit producer cells, and carry cargoes into new target cells.

Cytokinesis Cytokinesis () is the part of the cell division process and part of mitosis during which the cytoplasm of a single eukaryotic cell divides into two daughter cells. Cytoplasmic division begins during or after the late stages of nuclear division ...

separates one replicating cell into two daughter cells. Sundquist's lab studies this process by determining the structures and functions of factors that act to complete and regulate cytokinesis.

Honors and awards

Searle Scholars Award The Searle Scholars Program is a career development award made annually to support 15 young faculty in biomedical research and chemistry at US universities and research centers. The goal of the award is to support to exceptional young scientists wh ...

(1993) * ASBMB-Amgen Award for the application of biochemistry and molecular biology to the understanding of disease (2003) * Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

(2011) * Member of

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

(2014)
Rosenblatt Prize for Excellence
(2017) * Fellow of the

American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) is a learned society that was founded on December 26, 1906, at a meeting organized by John Jacob Abel (Johns Hopkins University). The roots of the society were in the American Ph ...

(2021) *

Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize The Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize for Biology or Biochemistry is an annual prize awarded by Columbia University to a researcher or group of researchers who have made an outstanding contribution in basic research in the fields of biology or biochemist ...

(2024) * Mani L. Bhaumik Breakthrough of the Year Award (2025) * TIME100: The Most Influential People of 2025 *

Warren Alpert Foundation Prize The Warren Alpert Foundation Prize is awarded annually to scientist(s) whose scientific achievements have led to the prevention, cure or treatment of human diseases or disorders, and/or whose research constitutes a seminal scientific finding that h ...

(2025)

Personal life

Sundquist met his wife Nola in 1983 when they were graduate students at MIT, and they were married in 1987. As of 2025, their son Christopher is a Corporate and Securities Attorney at the Gunderson Detmer Law Firm in Boston and their daughter Emily is a resident in the family practice a
Lawrence Family Health Center
in Lawrence, MA.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sundquist, Wesley Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni 20th-century American chemists Scientists from Saint Paul, Minnesota Carleton College alumni University of Utah faculty 1959 births Living people Scientists from Washington, D.C.