Robert M. Hughes

The paper uses optogenetics to show that F-actin polarization is essential for forming and maintaining a functional stem cell niche in Drosophila testes.

This study investigates the role of cofilin S119 in actin dynamics by mutating it to aromatic amino acids, showing increased actin bundling and effects on neuronal spines and apoptosis.

The paper describes the creation of an immobilized SUMO protease to produce the active P113 peptide without using cyanogen bromide.

This paper describes CD388, a drug-Fc conjugate that targets influenza virus neuraminidase, showing universal antiviral activity across multiple strains and demonstrating efficacy in mouse models.

This paper introduces OptoProfilin, an optogenetic profilin variant that acts as a single-component biosensor for cellular stress in cell lines, linking cytoskeletal changes to neurodegenerative disease.

This study designs and tests an optogenetic EphA1-Cry2 fusion to selectively activate EphA1 signaling without ligand, characterizing MAPK phosphorylation as a key signaling target.

The paper introduces CofActor, a light and redox-gated optogenetic tool that controls cofilin-actin interactions to study cytoskeletal dynamics under oxidative stress in cultured neurons.