Eric Sundberg’s path to becoming a leading structural immu­nologist began in his father’s chemical engineering lab at the University of New Hampshire. At the age of 16, Sundberg found himself filling a gap left by departing graduate stu­dents, working on interfacial energies in multi-component latex particles. What started as a summer job evolved into a formative experience that would span multiple years and produce his first peer-reviewed publication—co-authored with just one other person. “My first peer-reviewed journal article, with just two authors (both named “Sundberg!”), was published when I was in college but describes work that I did while a high schooler,” he recalls. This early immersion in re­search, facilitated by his father’s polymer engineering exper­tise, provided a foundation that would eventually lead him far from latex particles and into the intricate world of antibody engineering and immune system function.

His pivot to biophysics came during Sundberg’s undergradu­ate years at the University of Rochester, where he balanced rigorous academics with his role as captain of the men’s soc­cer team. In a graduate course on bioorganic chemistry taught by Eric Kool, Sundberg first encountered three-dimensional protein models visualized on a computer screen.

“When he told me that X-ray crystallographers generate most of the protein structures that we were looking at and spinning around on the screen, I decided there and then to go to grad­uate school to learn crystallography,” Sundberg explains. That decisive moment led him to pursue dual bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and economics—finding both topics fascinat­ing—before committing fully to structural biology.

At Northwestern University, Sundberg became the first PhD student of Ted Jardetzky, who had recently completed postdoctoral work with the late Don Wiley at Harvard. This positioned Sundberg at the cutting edge of structural im­munology, where he tackled problems involving molecular recognition, host immunity, and host-pathogen interactions while solving his first X-ray crystal structure.

His postdoctoral work with Roy Mariuzza at what is now the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research in Rock­ville, Maryland, deepened this expertise. Sundberg describes moving “from one structural immunology lab to another, extending “my studies on how the human immune system and human pathogens interact, solving many more crystal structures, and expanding my biophysical skillset.”

The research that would come to define Sundberg’s career emerged from a fortunate lab placement. After launching his first independent lab at the Boston Biomedical Research Institute and subsequently moving to the University of Mary­land School of Medicine and the Institute of Human Virology in Baltimore, Sundberg found his lab located next to that of Lai-Xi Wang, an expert in glycan remodeling.

Wang’s work focused on the conserved glycan found on IgG antibodies—a sugar modification that controls how these an­tibodies interact with Fc gamma receptors and complement proteins, thereby determining their effector functions. The collaboration that emerged from this proximity would prove transformative. Together, they determined the high-resolu­tion structure of EndoS, an IgG-specific endoglycosidase, and defined how these enzymes achieve their remarkable speci­ficity for IgG antibodies.

“We teamed up with Lai-Xi and his group to determine the high-resolution structure of EndoS and went on to define the molecular basis by which these enzymes achieve strict IgG substrate specificity, discover a new family of IgG-specific en­doglycosidases, and turned them into potential therapeutics to treat autoimmunity and other IgG-mediated pathologies,” Sundberg shares.

Now professor and chair of biochemistry at Emory University School of Medicine, Sundberg’s research has evolved to focus on what he describes as “defining the molecular basis of, and engineering, antibody-mediated effector functions.” His group is pushing the boundaries of enzyme engineering, as he describes: “This is an extension of our work on IgG-specific endoglycosidases, which we have now extended to engineer­ing these enzymes to alter or increase their specificities. We are working on making these enzymes specific not only to IgG antibodies, but only certain glycans on IgG antibodies, so that we can therapeutically target the most inflammatory and pathogenic antibody glycoforms.”

Like many scientists, Sundberg found the transition from trainee to independent principal investigator (PI) to be his career’s greatest challenge. “Coming from a track record of success in established research environments, it can be a rude awakening to not be immediately successful while build­ing your own research environment,” he reflects. He describes the period as “often frustrating and periodically debilitating— in the sense that I sometimes questioned whether I had really chosen the right career path for me.”

What carried him through were relationships—with lab members he learned to trust, colleagues who had navigated the same transition, and collaborators who expanded his research scope. His experience during that transition now informs his work recruiting and mentoring new faculty at Em­ory. For Sundberg, the most fulfilling aspect of his dual roles as professor and department chair centers on people. “As a PI, the reward for me in seeing my trainees succeed is probably greater than it is even for them,” he says. Similarly, as chair, he finds deep satisfaction in recruiting young scientists and supporting them through the establishment of their research programs and advancement through academic ranks.

His involvement with the Biophysical Society, particularly his tenure on the Public Affairs Committee (including six years serving as chair), reflects his commitment to supporting others. He shares, “The Society has been a constant presence in my career, making and/or strengthening connections at every stage. Some of these have been more scientific, such as my collaborations with Ed Egelman, former BPS president and professor at the University of Virginia, with whom I have pub­lished several papers on the structure and function of flagella. Others have been more professional, such as my many inter­actions with Karen Fleming, BPS president-elect and profes­sor at Johns Hopkins, from whom I’ve always sought career advice—and luckily for me she has been gracious enough to provide it!”

Sundberg sees biophysics entering what he calls “a golden age of molecular design and engineering in which we can create protein biologics to address virtually any disease.” His vision for the future involves continued development of tools to design and engineer proteins with unprecedented capabili­ties, both technological and therapeutic. Personally, he hopes “to develop new ways to shape the immune response through enzyme and glycoprotein engineering.”

His advice to young biophysicists reflects the wisdom gained from his own journey: “First, find a balance between working on the scientific problem(s) you are most passionate about and using your biophysical skillset to expand into new fields. Second, trust your trainees and the training process and try to appreciate that learning only comes through failure.”

Outside the lab, Sundberg maintains connections to his New Hampshire roots. Growing up with ready access to mountains instilled what he describes as “an enduring love of the out­doors,” which he nurtures through running, road and moun­tain biking, hiking, and climbing.