Matthew Rodrigues

My main research interest is in the application and development of structural biology methods to better understand the mechanisms by which proteins achieve their biological functions.   

Depending on the protein of interest, reactions in protein crystals can be initiated by several methods including, but not limited to, mixing with ligands and laser illumination. Serial crystallography experiments at synchrotrons and X-ray Free Electrons Lasers (XFELs) provide an avenue to determine protein crystal structures at specific timepoints after reaction initiation. These time-resolved snapshots of proteins in action at physiological temperatures have been used to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of proteins required for processes including photosynthesis, nutrient uptake and vision.

My work is focussed on exploring new methods for reaction initiation, sample delivery, and data analysis, to open up new biological systems to investigation by serial crystallography.

Benoit R.M., Wang J., Beyer D., Abbas A., Rodrigues M.J., Wieser M.M., Deupi X., Müller C., Suga H., Bode J.W. (2026). Development and structure-guided characterization of a novel ACE2-binding macrocyclic peptide. Journal of Structural Biology: X, 13, 100145.

Stubbs J., Caramello N., Rodrigues M.J., Engilberge S., Mathieu E., Rose S.L., Evans G., Royant A., Tews I. (2026). Mapping the effects of specific radiation damage and solvent radiolysis in buffers and crystals with online UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy. Acta Crystallographica Section D, 82 (5), 504-515.

Bertalan E., Rodrigues M.J., Walter D., Schertler G.F.X., Bondar A-N.⁺ (2026). DNET: A Graph-Based Tool and Workflow for Dynamic Hydrogen-Bond Networks and Applications for Visual Rhodopsins. Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation, 22 (2), 1092-1110.   

Mühle J.*, Alenfelder J.*, Rodrigues M.J.*, Jürgenliemke L.*, Guixà-González R., Grätz L., Andres F, Bacchin A., Hennig M., Schihada H., Crüsemann M., König G.M., Schertler G.F.X., Kostenis E., Deupi X. (2025). Cyclic peptide inhibitors function as molecular glues to stabilize Gq/11 heterotrimers. PNAS, 122 (19), e2418398122.   

Rodrigues M.J., Cabry M., Collie G., Carter M., McAndrew C., Owen R.L., Bellenie B.R., Le Bihan Y-V., van Montfort R.L.M., (2024). Specific radiation damage to halogenated inhibitors and ligands in protein-ligand crystal structures. Journal of Applied Crystallography, 57, 1951-1965.

Tejero O., Pamula F., Koyanagi M., Nagata T., Afanasyev P., Das I., Deupi X., Sheves M., Terakita A., Schertler G.F.X⁺, Rodrigues M.J.⁺, Tsai C-J.⁺ (2024). Active state structures of a bistable visual opsin bound to G proteins. Nature Communications, 15 (8924).    

Rodrigues M.J.⁺, Tejero, O., Mühle J., Pamula F., Das I., Tsai C-J., Terakita A., Sheves M., Schertler G.F.X.⁺, (2024). Activating an invertebrate bistable opsin with the all-trans 6.11 retinal analog. PNAS, 121 (31), e2406814121.

Bertalan E., Rodrigues M.J., Schertler G.F.X., Bondar A-N. (2024). Graph-based algorithms to dissect long-distance water-mediated H-bond networks for conformational couplings in GPCRs. British Journal of Pharmacology, 1-15.

Bolton R., Machelett M.M., Stubbs J., Axford D., Caramello N., Catapano L., Maly M., Rodrigues M.J., Cordery C., Tizzard G.J., MacMillan F., Engilberge S., von Stetten D., Tosha T., Sugimoto H., Worrall J.A.R., Webb J.S., Zubkov M., Coles S., Mathieu E., Steiner R.A., Murshudov G., Schrader T.E., Orville A.M., Royant A., Evans G., Hough M.A., Owen R.L., Tews I. (2024). A redox switch allows binding of Fe(II) and Fe(III) ions in the cyanobacterial iron binding protein FutA from Prochlorococcus. PNAS, 121 (12), e2308478121.

Barret D.C.A., Schuster D., Rodrigues M.J., Leitner A., Picotti P., Schertler G.F.X, Kaupp U.B., Korkhov V.M., Marino J. (2023). Structural basis of calmodulin modulation of the rod cyclic nucleotide-gated channel. PNAS, 120 (15), e2300309120.

Gruhl T., Weinert T.*, Rodrigues M.J.*, Milne C.J., Ortolani G., Nass K., Nango E., Sen S., Johnson P.J.M., Cirelli C., Furrer A., Mous S., Skopintsev P., James D., Dworkowski F., Båth P., Kekilli D., Ozerov D., Tanaka R., Glover H., Bacellar C., Brünle S., Casadei C.M., Diethelm A.D., Gashi D., Gotthard G., Guixà-González R., Joti Y., Kabanova V., Knopp G., Lesca E., Ma P., Martiel I., Mühle J., Owada S., Pamula F., Sarabi D., Tejero O., Tsai C-J., Varma N., Wach A., Boutet S., Tono K., Nogly P., Deupi X., Iwata S., Neutze R., Standfuss J., Schertler G.F.X, Panneels, V. (2023). Ultrafast structural changes direct the first molecular events of vision. Nature, 615, 939-944.

Rodrigues M.J.*⁺, Casadei C.M.*, Weinert T., Panneels V., Schertler G.F.X.⁺ (2023). Correction of rhodopsin serial crystallography diffraction intensities for a lattice-translocation defect. Acta Crystallographica Section D, 79 (3), 224-233.

Pierrat O.A., Liu M., Collie G.W., Shetty K., Rodrigues M.J., Le Bihan Y-V., Gunnell E., McAndrew C., Stubbs M., Rowlands M.G., Yahya N., Shehu E., Talbot R., Pickard L., Bellenie B.R., Cheung K-M.J., Drouin L., Innocenti P., Woodward H., Davis O.A., Lloyd M.G., Varela A., Huckvale R., Broccatelli F., Carter M., Galiwango D., Hayes A., Raynaud F.I., Bryant C., Whittaker S., Rossanesse O.W., Hoelder S., Burke R., van Montfort R.L.M. (2022). Discovering cell-active BCL6 inhibitors: effectively combining biochemical HTS with multiple biophysical techniques, X-ray crystallography and cell-based assays. Scientific Reports, 12, 18633.

Davis O.A., Cheung K-M.J., Brennan A., Lloyd M.G., Rodrigues M.J., Pierrat O.A., Collie G.W., Le Bihan Y-V., Huckvale R., Harnden A., Varela A., Bright M.D., Eve P., Hayes A., Henley A.T., Carter M.D., McAndrew C., Talbot R., Burke R., van Montfort R.L.M., Raynaud F.I., Rossanesse O.W., Meniconi M., Bellenie B.R., Hoelder S. (2022). Optimizing Shape Complementarity Enables the Discovery of Potent Tricyclic BCL6 Inhibitors. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 65, 8169-8190.

Rodrigues M.J., Giri N., Royant A., Zhang Y., Bolton R., Evans G., Ealick S.E., Begley T., Tews, I. (2022). Trapping and structural characterisation of a covalent intermediate in vitamin B6 biosynthesis catalysed by the Pdx1 PLP synthase. RSC Chemical Biology, 3, 227-230.

Lloyd M.G., Huckvale R., Cheung K-M.J., Rodrigues M.J., Collie G.W., Pierrat O.A., Gatti Iou M., Carter M., Davis O.A., McAndrew C., Gunnell E., Le Bihan Y-V., Talbot R., Henley A.T., Johnson L.D., Hayes A., Bright M.D., Raynaud F.I., Meniconi M., Burke R., van Montfort R.L.M., Rossanese O.W., Bellenie B.R., Hoelder S. (2021). Into Deep Water: Optimizing BCL6 Inhibitors by Growing into a Solvated Pocket. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 64, 17079-17097.

Bellenie B.R., Cheung K-M. J., Varela A., Pierrat O.A., Collie G.W., Box G.B., Bright M.D., Gowan S., Hayes A., Rodrigues M.J., Shetty K.N., Carter M., Davis O.A., Henley A.T., Innocenti P., Johnson L.D., Liu M., de Klerk S., Le Bihan Y-V., Lloyd M.G., McAndrew C., Shehu E., Talbot R., Woodward H.L., Burke R., Kirkin V., van Montfort R.L.M., Raynaud F.I., Rossanese, O.W., Hoelder, S. (2020). Achieving in vivo target depletion through the discovery and optimization of benzimidazolone BCL6 degraders. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 63, 4047-4068.

Rodrigues M.J.*, Windeisen V.*, Zhang Y., Guedez G., Weber S., Strohmeier M., Hanes J.W., Royant A., Evans G., Sinning I., Ealick S.E., Begley T.P., Tews I. (2017). Lysine relay mechanism coordinates intermediate transfer in vitamin B6 biosynthesis. Nature Chemical Biology, 13, 290-294.