** Denotes Corresponding Author
†Denotes Graduate Student Author
†† Denotes Undergraduate Student Author
Papers@ECU (2016 – Present)
Noah Mann†#, Jahiem Hill††#, Kenneth Wang††*, Robert M. Hughes**# OptoProfilin: A Single Component Biosensor of Applied Cellular Stress. *Davidson College and #ECU Department of Chemistry. ChemBioChem, 2024, 25(9).
Ethan S. Quinn††*, Brian Sylcott*, Nathaneal T. Green††#, Joi P. Walker#, Robert M. Hughes# 3D Printed Laboratory Accessories as a Conduit for a Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Experience. *ECU College of Engineering and #ECU Department of Chemistry. Journal of College Science Teaching, 2023, 52(4).
Deane, Dalton T.†, Thomas A. Cope††, Anna M. Schulz††, Edward T. Bennett††, and Robert M. Hughes. Design, Heterologous Expression, and Application of an Immobilized Protein Kinase Bioconjugate Chemistry (2023). Article featured on front cover.
Wurz Anna I., Schulz Anna M., O’Bryant Collin T., Sharp Josephine F., Hughes Robert M. Cytoskeletal dysregulation and neurodegenerative disease: Formation, monitoring, and inhibition of cofilin-actin rods Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 2022, 16, 10.3389/fncel.2022.982074AI Wurz, WP Bunner, EM Szatmari, RM Hughes CRY-BARs: Versatile light-gated molecular tools for the remodeling of membrane architectures Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2022, 102388
Gagliardi PA, Dobrzyński M, Jacques MA, Dessauges C, Ender P, Blum Y, Hughes RM, Cohen AR, Pertz O. Collective ERK/Akt activity waves orchestrate epithelial homeostasis by driving apoptosis-induced survival. Developmental Cell. 2021 Jun 21;56(12):1712-1726.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2021.05.007. Epub 2021 Jun 2. PMID: 34081908.
Bunner, W. P., Dodson, R., Hughes, R. M.**, Szatmari, E. M.** Transfection and activation of CofActor, a light AND stress gated optogenetic tool, in primary hippocampal neuron cultures. Bio-Protocol 2021 Apr 20;11(8):e3990. doi: 10.21769/BioProtoc.3990. PMID: 34124292; PMCID: PMC8160542.
Wurz, A.I.†; O’Bryant, C.T.†; Hughes, R.M.** protaTETHER: A method for the incorporation of linkers in biomacromolecules, Methods in Enzymology, Academic Press, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.mie.2020.10.001.
Patel, M.P.†; Green, N.T.††; Burch, J.K.††; Kew, K.A.; Hughes, R.M.** Screening of Biocatalysts for Synthesis of the Wieland–Miescher Ketone. Catalysts 2020, 10, 1063.
Norris, JL††; Patel, T††; Dasari, AKR; Cope, TA††; Lim, KH; Hughes, RM**. Covalent and Non-Covalent Strategies for the Immobilization of Tobacco Etch Virus (TEV) Protease on Superparamagnetic Nanoparticles. Journal of Biotechnology 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiotec.2020.06.021
Hughes, R.M.; Virag, J.A. Harnessing the Power of Eph/ephrin Biosemiotics for Theranostic Applications. Pharmaceuticals 2020, 13, 112. https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/13/6/112/htm
Salem FB†, Bunner WP†, Prabhu V V, Kuyateh A-B†, O’Bryant CT†, Murashov AK, Szatmari EM**, Hughes RM**. CofActor: A light- and stress-gated optogenetic clustering tool to study disease-associated cytoskeletal dynamics in living cells. J Biol Chem 2020 May 18 jbc.RA119.012427. Available from: http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/short/RA119.012427v1
Godwin WC††, Hoffmann GF††, Gray TJ, Hughes RM**. Imaging of Morphological and Biochemical Hallmarks of Apoptosis with Optimized Optogenetic Tools. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2019; doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA119.009141
Haar LL, Lawrence DS, Hughes RM**. Optogenetic perturbation of the biochemical pathways that control cell behavior. Methods Enzymol. 2019;622:309-328. doi:10.1016/bs.mie.2019.02.020. Epub 2019 Mar 12. PubMed PMID: 31155059.
Dasari AKR, Hughes RM, Wi S, Hung I, Gan Z, Kelly JW, Lim KH. Transthyretin Aggregation Pathway toward the Formation of Distinct Cytotoxic Oligomers. Sci Rep. 2019 Jan 10;9(1):33. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-37230-1. PubMed PMID: 30631096; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6328637.
Hughes RM** A Compendium of Chemical and Genetic Approaches to Light Regulated Gene Transcription. Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2018 Jul 24:1-22. doi: 10.1080/10409238.2018.1487382. [Epub ahead of print] Link to article here.
Norris JL††, Hughes RM** protaTETHER: A method for the incorporation of variable linkers in protein fusions reveals impacts of linker flexibility in a PKAc-GFP fusion protein. FEBS OpenBio 2018 June 8(6):1029-1042. View Open Access Article Here.
O’Banion C, Priestman M, Hughes RM, Herring LE, Capuzzi SJ, Lawrence DS Design and Profiling of a Subcellular Targeted Optogenetic cAMP-Dependent Protein Kinase. Cell Chemical Biology 2018 Jan 18;25(1):100-109.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2017.09.011
Hughes RM, Marvin CM, Smith WJ, et al. “Phototriggered Secretion of Membrane Compartmentalized Bioactive Agents.”Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2016 doi: 10.1002/anie.201609731 Featured as a “Hot Paper”by the editors and featured in C&E News “News of the Week”
Presentations@ECU (2016 – Present)
Wurz, A. I., Bunner, W. P., Szatmari, E. M., & Hughes, R. M. (2022, April). CRY-BAR: A versatile light-gated tool for the remodeling of membrane architectures. ASBMB National Meeting. Philadelphia, PA.
O’Bryant, C. T., Hardeman, J., Bessetti, R. N., Litwa, K. A., & Hughes, R. M. (2022, April). Derivation of Actin-binding Peptides from a Cofilin Scaffold: A Rational Approach. ASBMB National Meeting. Philadelphia, PA.
T. Cope, D. Deane, T. Bennett, R.M. Hughes. Poster 612. Design and Application of an Immobilizable Protein Kinase. Southeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society. Nov. 10 – 13, 2021. Birmingham, AL.
Wyatt P. Bunner, Rachel Dodson, Erzsebet Szatmari, Robert M. Hughes Applications of CofActor, a Light and Stress Gated Optogenetic Tool, in Living Cells. Virtual Keystone Symposia: Neurodegenerative Diseases: Genes, Mechanisms, and Therapeutics Summer 2021
Anna I. Wurz, Wyatt P. Bunner, Erzsebet M. Szatmari, Robert M. Hughes Engineering new bioactuators for the optical manipulation of dendritic spines. Celebration of Research and Scholarship (CORAS) Seminar, ECU School of Dental Medicine, Spring 2021
P. Gagliardi, M. Dobrzyński, M. Jacques, C. Dessauges, R. Hughes, O. Pertz P770. Collective ERK/Akt activity waves orchestrate epithelial homeostasis by driving apoptosis-induced survival. American Society for Cell Biology – Cell Bio virtual 2020
Hughes, R.M. “A “CofActor” Approach to Exploring Neurodegenerative Pathways in Living Cells.” University of North Carolina-Greensboro Department of Chemistry Virtual Seminar Series, October 9, 2020.
Ethan Quinn, Joi P. Walker, Robert M. Hughes. 3D printed laboratory accessories as a conduit for a multidisciplinary undergraduate research experience. PAPER ID: 3425833. ACS National Meeting (Virtual) Fall 2020.
Mitul Patel, Karla Hernandez Gomorah, Ethan Quinn, Robert M. Hughes. Characterization of biocatalysts for carbon-carbon bond forming reactions. PAPER ID: 3425838. ACS National Meeting (Virtual) Fall 2020.
Collin O’Bryant, Robert M. Hughes. Optogenetic investigation of small molecule and peptide inhibitors of cofilin-actin rod formation in stressed cells. PAPER ID: 3425852. ACS National Meeting (Virtual) Fall 2020.
Hughes, R.M. “A Tale of Two Switches: Designing Optogenetic Actuators of Cell Fate.” ECU Brody School of Medicine Department of Physiology, October 30, 2019.
Cellular Optogenetics: Pushing (& Pulling) Proteins Around With Light. Robert M Hughes Guest Lecture, BIOL 6030, East Carolina University, October 23, 2019.
SERMACS 752: Identification and characterization of biocatalysts for synthesis of the Wieland-Miescher ketone. Mitul P. Patel, Robert M. Hughes. SERMACS, Savannah GA, October 21, 2019.
SERMACS 460: 3D printed laboratory accessories as a vital component of the undergraduate research experience. Ethan S. Quinn, Nathaneal T. Green, Robert M. Hughes. SERMACS, Savannah GA, October 20, 2019.
SERMACS 461: Screening and characterization of a commercially available lipase library for catalysis of a Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction. Karla D Hernandez Gomora, Robert M. Hughes. SERMACS, Savannah GA, October 20, 2019.
Highway to Scale: Going Beyond Proof-of-Principle with New Biomaterials Robert M Hughes ECU Biomaterials Cluster Launch April 5, 2019
BIOT 55: Immobilization of enzyme fusions on superparamagnetic nanoparticles: Two case studies. Robert Hughes, Jessica Laurel Norris, William Michael Taylor ACS National Meeting Orlando, FL March 31, 2019
ORGN 644: Screening and characterization of C-C bond forming reactions catalyzed by promiscuous biocatalysts in non-aqueous media Mitul P Patel, Nathaneal T Green, Jacob K Burch, Kimberly A Kew, Robert M Hughes ACS National Meeting Orlando, FL April 1 (Sci-Mix) & April 3, 2019
Hughes, R.M. “A Tale of Two Switches: Designing Optogenetic Actuators of Cell Fate.” February 6, 2019. Wake Forest University Department of Chemistry. Winston-Salem, NC
Hughes, R.M. “Studies toward an optogenetic mimic of cofilin-actin rod formation.” ECU Neuroscience Collaborative Meeting November 20, 2018. ECU Brody School of Medicine. Greenville, NC
Norris, J.L.; Hughes, R.M. “Expression and characterization of an immobilized Tobacco Etch Virus (TEV) protease – Streptavidin fusion protein.” (2018) SERMACS Augusta, GA
Godwin, W.C.; Hughes, R.M. “Visualization of the hallmarks of apoptosis with an optimized optogenetic actuator of mitochondrial membrane permeabilization.” (2018) SERMACS Augusta, GA
Norris, J.L.; Hughes, R.M. “protaTETHER: A method for the incorporation of variable linker sequences in protein fusions.” (2018) ASBMB: Experimental Biology 2018 San Diego, CA Abstract in The FASEB Journal Volume 32, Issue 1_supplement01 Apr 2018
Godwin, W.C.; Hughes, R.M. “Optimization of an optogenetic switch for “one-click” light-mediated initiation of apoptosis.” SERMACS 2017 Charlotte, NC Poster ID 1126.
Hughes, R.M. Marvin CM, Smith WJ, et al. “Long wavelength, orthogonal release of internalized anti-inflammatory compounds from cellular vehicles.”, April 5, 2017, 253rd Meeting of the American Chemical Society, San Francisco, CA.
Preprints@ECU
Dalton Deane, Thomas Cope, Anna Schulz, Edward Bennett, Robert M. Hughes. Design and Application of an Immobilized Protein Kinase. ChemRXiv, 2022. doi: https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv-2022-c6wf5
Anna I. Wurz, Wyatt Paul Bunner, Erzsebet M. Szatmari, Robert M. Hughes. CRY-BARs: Versatile light-gated molecular tools for the remodeling of membrane architectures. BioRXiv, 2022. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.28.478241
Patel, M.P.; Green, N.T.; Burch, J.K.; Kew, K.A.; Hughes, R.M. Screening of Biocatalysts for Synthesis of The Wieland-Miescher Ketone. Preprints 2020, 2020080600 (doi: https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202008.0600.v1).
Collective ERK/Akt activity waves orchestrate epithelial homeostasis by driving apoptosis-induced survival (2020): , , , , ,
Norris, Jessica L.; Patel, Tulsi; Dasari, Anvesh K. R.; Cope, Thomas A.; Lim, Kwang Hun; Hughes, Robert (2019): Covalent and Non-Covalent Strategies for the Immobilization of Tobacco Etch Virus (TEV) Protease on Superparamagnetic Nanoparticles. ChemRxiv. Preprint. https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv.11365616.v1
Fatema B Salem, Vishwanath V Prabhu, Abu-Bakarr Kuyateh, Wyatt Paul Bunner, Alexander Murashov, Erzsebet M Szatmari, Robert M Hughes “CofActor: A light and redox-gated optogenetic clustering tool to study abnormal cytoskeletal dynamics in stressed cells” (2019) BioRXiv https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/857706v2
Walton C Godwin, George F Hoffmann, Taylor J Gray, Robert M Hughes “Imaging of Morphological and Biochemical Hallmarks of Apoptosis with Optimized Optogenetic Actuators” (2019) BioRXiv https://doi.org/10.1101/551788
Publications prior to ECU appointment
Taslimi A, Zoltowski B, Miranda JG, Pathak GP, Hughes RM, Tucker CL. “Optimized second-generation CRY2-CIB dimerizers and photoactivatable Cre recombinase.” Nat Chem Biol. 2016 Jun;12(6):425-30. doi:10.1038/nchembio.2063. Epub 2016 Apr 11
Hughes RM**, Freeman DJ, Lamb KN, Pollett RM, Smith WJ, Lawrence DS**. Optogenetic Engineering: Light-Triggered Cell Death. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2015 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.201506346/abstract
Rodgers ZL, Hughes RM, Doherty LM, Shell JR, Molesky BP, Brugh AM, Forbes MD, Moran AM, Lawrence DS. B(12)-mediated, long wavelength photopolymerization of hydrogels. J Am Chem Soc. 2015 Mar 11;137(9):3372-8. doi: 10.1021/jacs.5b00182.
Hughes, Robert M.; Lawrence, David S. ”Optogenetic Engineering: Light Directed Cell Motility.” Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2014 Aug 25. doi: 10.1002/anie.201404198.
Smith, Weston L.; Oien, Nathan P.; Hughes, Robert M.; Marvin, Christina L.; Rogers, Zachary L.; Lawrence, David S. “Cell-Mediated Assembly of Phototherapeutics.” Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2014 Aug 22. doi: 10.1002/anie.201406216.
Robert M. Hughes; Steven Bolger; Hersh Tapadia; Chandra L. Tucker. “Light-triggered control of DNA transcription in yeast.” http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ymeth.2012.08.004, Methods, August 2012.
Robert M. Hughes; Justin Varna; Adrianne M. C. Pittman; Junqi Song; Chandra L. Tucker. “A light-dependent, dark-promoted interaction of cryptochrome 1 and the Pr form of phytochrome B.” June 22, 2012 The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 287, 22165-22172. Selected as a JBC “Paper of the Year for 2012”. Only 22 manuscripts out of over 4,000 published in 2012 received this designation.
Pittman AM, Lage MD, Poltoratsky V, Vrana JD, Paiardini A, Roncador A, Cellini B, Hughes RM, Tucker CL. “Rapid Profiling of Disease Alleles Using a Tunable Reporter of Protein Misfolding.” Genetics. 2012 Aug 24. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 22923379.
Wilger, Dale; Park, Jes M.; Hughes, Robert M.; Cuellar, Matthew; Waters, Marcey. “Induced Fit Binding of a Polyproline Helix by a b-Hairpin Peptide” Angewandte Chemie, 2011, 50, 12201 – 12204. Featured as a “Hot Paper”by the editors.
Matthew J. Kennedy*; Robert M. Hughes*; Leslie A. Peteya; Joel W. Schwartz; Michael D. Ehlers; Chandra L. Tucker. “Rapid blue light induction of protein interactions in living cells” Nature Methods, 2010, 7(12):973-5. (*co-authors contributing equally)
Hughes, R. M.; Mutzenhardt, P.; Rodriguez, A. A. “Comparison of the Molecular Dynamics of C70 in the Solid and Liquid Phases” Advances in Physical Chemistry, 2009, Article ID 953198. doi:10.1155/2009/953198
Hughes, R. M.; Mutzenhardt, P.; Bartolotti, L.; Rodriguez, A. A. “Experimental and Theoretical Analysis of the Reorientational Dynamics of Fullerene C70 in Various Aromatic Solvents.” J. Phys. Chem. A. 2008, 112 (18), 4186-4193.
Hughes, R. M.; Benshoff, M.; Waters, M. L. “Influences of Chain Length and N- Methylation on a Cation-π Interaction in a β-Hairpin Peptide.” Chem. Eur. J. 2007, 13, 5753 – 5764.
Hughes, R. M.; Wiggins, K. R.; Khorasanizadeh, S.; Waters, M. L. “Recognition of Trimethylysine by the Chromodomain is not driven by the Hydrophobic Effect.” Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 2007, 104, 11184 – 11188.
Hughes, R. M.; Waters, M. L. “Effects of Lysine Acetylation in a β-hairpin Peptide: Comparison of an amide-π and a cation-π interaction.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 13586-13591.
Hughes, R. M.; Waters, M. L. “Arginine Methylation in a β-hairpin peptide: Implications for Arg-π interactions, DeltaCp°, and the cold denatured state.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 12735-12742.
Hughes, R. M.; Waters, M. L. “Model systems for β-hairpins and β-sheets.” Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol. 2006, 16, 514-524.
Hughes, R. M.; Waters, M. L. “Influence of N-Methylation on a Cation-π Interaction Produces a Remarkably Stable β-Hairpin Peptide.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 6518- 6519. JACS Communication.
Hughes, R. M.; Mutzenhardt, P.; Bartolotti, L.; Rodriguez, A. A. “Analysis of the spin- lattice relaxation rate and reorientational dynamics of fullerene C70 in chlorobenzene- d(5).” J. Mol. Liq. 2005, 116, 139-146.
Rashkin, M. J.; Hughes, R. M.; Calloway, N. T.; Waters, M. L. “Orientation and Alkylation Effects on Cation-π Interactions in Aqueous Solution.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 13320-13325.