Matthew Cruz

Program: Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology

Current advisor: Gaya K. Amarasinghe, PhD

Undergraduate university: Rice University, 2017

Enrollment year: 2017

Research summary
Protein dynamics and their role in protein function and chemistry

Utilizing biochemical and biophysical approaches, I am interested in developing novel peptide-based inhibitors targeting the TEM-1 and other beta-lactamases. Additionally, I work on understanding allosteric communication as it occurs in the context of bacterial and viral enzymes. Allostery and other forms of protein dynamics are exploitable from a biomedical perspective while also elucidating fundamental biochemical and biophysical properties underlying the protein structure-function relationship.

Graduate publications
Cruz MA, Frederick TE, Mallimadugula UL, Singh S, Vithani N, Zimmerman MI, Porter JR, Moeder KE, Amarasinghe GK, Bowman GR. 2022 A cryptic pocket in Ebola VP35 allosterically controls RNA binding. Nat Commun, 13(1):2269. PMCID: PMC9046395