Professor | Penn State College of Medicine | United States
Dr. Cara-Lynne Schengrund, Professor Emerita of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, is a distinguished scientist whose career has spanned over four decades. She earned her B.S. in Chemistry from Upsala College and her M.S. and Ph.D. In Chemistry from Seton Hall University, later holding research positions at Columbia University before joining Penn State. Rising through the academic ranks, she served as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor, and Acting Department Chair, ultimately achieving Emerita status. Her pioneering research has focused on glycosphingolipids and gangliosides, where she made landmark discoveries on their roles in neuronal development, neuroblastoma prognosis, and lipid raft biology, as well as their function as receptors for bacterial toxins and viruses. Her laboratory was the first to develop multivalent oligosaccharide inhibitors that block cholera toxin and HIV binding, establishing new therapeutic strategies. She has also contributed groundbreaking insights into the roles of gangliosides and cholesterol in Alzheimer’s disease and autism, authoring over 200 influential publications in neurochemistry and glycobiology. Beyond research, Dr. Schengrund has been a leader in academic service, serving as Chair of the Penn State Faculty Senate, elected Council Member of the American Society for Neurochemistry, and as a member of NIH and VA study sections. Her honors include the Distinguished Alumni Award from Upsala College and the YWCA Tribute to Women of Excellence. Through her research, mentorship, and leadership, Dr. Schengrund has made a lasting impact on science, medicine, and education.
Profile: ORCID
Featured Publications
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Thompson, J. P., & Schengrund, C. L. (1997). Oligosaccharide-derivatized dendrimers: Inhibitors of the adherence of the cholera toxin B subunit and the heat-labile enterotoxin of E. coli to GM1. Glycoconjugate Journal, 14(7), 837–845.
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Kensinger, R. D., Yowler, B. C., Benesi, A. J., & Schengrund, C. L. (2004). Synthesis of novel, multivalent glycodendrimers as ligands for HIV-1 gp120. Bioconjugate Chemistry, 15(2), 349–358.
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Petro, K. A., & Schengrund, C. L. (2009). Membrane raft disruption promotes axonogenesis in N2a neuroblastoma cells. Neurochemical Research, 34(1), 29–37.
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Schengrund, C. L. (2015). Gangliosides: Glycosphingolipids essential for normal neural development and function. Trends in Biochemical Sciences, 40(7), 397–406.
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Schengrund, C. L. (2023). The Ying and Yang of ganglioside function in cancer. Cancers, 15(22), 5362.