Analyzing dynamic proteins
Cell membranes are fluid, chaotic structures composed mainly of fatty molecules. Forming critical barriers between cells’ contents and their surroundings, these membranes also contain important proteins that allow cells to communicate with the outside world. Such membrane-bound proteins are difficult to study because they change their structure when removed from membranes and therefore must be analyzed in place. Mei Hong, an MIT professor of chemistry who has spent much of her career studying membranes and the proteins embedded in them, embraces that complexity. “You have to be willing to spend time measuring under conditions where the signals are not very pretty, but it tells you a lot. Those dynamics are something that a lot of people don’t quite want to deal with,” she says. “But it’s extremely important because so many drug targets are membrane proteins.” Hong, who joined MIT’s faculty in 2014 as a tenured professor after 15 years at Iowa State...