Author

Michael H. Hecht

Princeton UniversityORCID 0000-0002-5538-9813Unclaimed ORCID profile · follow to get notified of new preprints

Biology Disciplines

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Synthetic Biology· 2

Signature Assays, Organisms & Methods

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Organism:E. coli· 2 Approach:experimental assay· 2 Assay:protein structure· 2 Research Focus:protein design· 1

Frequent Co-Authors

Guanyu LiaoiD· 2 shared Sha Tao· 2 shared Jessica L. DessauiD· 1 shared Kodai Kurihara· 1 shared Koji UmezawaiD· 1 shared Mina Nagahara· 1 shared Ryoichi AraiiD· 1 shared Yejin BanniD· 1 shared

Activity by Year

2025-2026 · peak 1/yr

Co-Author Collaboration Network

8 top collaborators · 20 mutual co-author links

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2 shared papersSynthetic Biology

Guanyu LiaoORCID

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2 papers

Recent·Most cited

Synthetic BiologybioRxivPreprintJan 2, 2026

An Insoluble De Novo Protein Enables Survival of E. coli by Co-precipitating with a Gene Repressor

Guanyu Liao, Sha Tao, Jessica L. Dessau…·Michael H. Hecht

The paper identifies a de novo protein, Resc4, that rescues E. coli growth by upregulating an alternative enzyme through co-precipitation with a gene repressor.

DOI 10.64898/2026.01.02.697383

E. coliprotein structure

𝕏 PostBluesky

Synthetic BiologybioRxivPreprintDec 9, 2025

Engineering a Covalent Linkage into a Dimeric De Novo Enzyme Reveals a Novel Life-Sustaining Mechanism

Guanyu Liao, Sha Tao, Mina Nagahara…·Michael H. Hecht

The paper engineers a covalent linkage into a de novo enzyme, revealing that the modified protein rescues cells through upregulating siderophore biosynthesis rather than catalyzing iron release.

DOI 10.64898/2025.12.09.693225

E. coliprotein structure

𝕏 PostBluesky