R. A. Mehl

Genetic code expansion, click chemistry, and light-activated PI3K reveal details of membrane protein trafficking downstream of receptor tyrosine kinases

The paper uses optogenetic PI3K activation and genetic code expansion to study RTK signaling, showing PI3K alone can traffic TRPV1 and insulin receptors to the plasma membrane.

Ultra-Fast Bioorthogonal Spin-Labeling and Distance Measurements in Mammalian Cells Using Small, Genetically Encoded Tetrazine Amino Acids

This paper introduces a fast bioorthogonal reaction system for in-cell spin-labeling and DEER spectroscopy, enabling structural studies of proteins in live mammalian cells.

Genetic encoding of 3-nitro-tyrosine reveals the impacts of 14-3-3 nitration on client binding and dephosphorylation

This study genetically encodes 3-nitro-tyrosine in 14-3-3 proteins to investigate how nitration at Y130 and Y213 affects structure, function, and client binding.

Tuning aromatic contributions by site-specific encoding of fluorinated phenylalanine residues in bacterial and mammalian cells

This paper introduces new pyrrolysine-based aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase/tRNA pairs to site-specifically encode fluorinated phenylalanine residues in bacterial and mammalian cells, enabling experimental assessment of aromatic-pi interactions.

An improved fluorescent noncanonical amino acid for measuring conformational distributions using time-resolved transition metal ion FRET

This paper introduces an improved fluorescent noncanonical amino acid, Acd, for time-resolved tmFRET to measure conformational distributions in proteins.

Genetic Encoding of a Highly Photostable, Long Lifetime Fluorescent Amino Acid for Imaging in Mammalian Cells

The paper introduces a genetically encodable fluorescent amino acid, Acd, with superior photostability and long fluorescence lifetime for use in FLIM and protein studies.