Natalie Ahn

Protein Kinases (PKs) are allosteric enzymes that play an essential role in signal transduction by regulating a variety of key cellular processes. Most PKs suffer con- formational rearrangements upon phosphorylation that strongly enhance the catalytic activity. Generally, it involves the movement of the phosphorylated loop towards the active site and...

Conformational selection by small molecules expands inhibitory possibilities for protein kinases. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase ERK2 have shown that activation by dual phosphorylation induces global motions involving exchange between two states, L and R. We show that ERK inhibitors Vertex-11e and SCH772984 exploit...

Hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) is a powerful biophysical technique being increasingly applied to a wide variety of problems. As the HDX-MS community continues to grow, adoption of best practices in data collection, analysis, presentation and interpretation will greatly enhance the accessibility of this technique to nonspecialists. Here we...

The complex inner workings of cells, from their architecture to their signaling, underlie much of multicellular organic life. How are they built? How do their proteins interact? And most crucially, how can understanding these functions improve our knowledge of biological outcomes such as disease? University of Colorado Boulder Distinguished Professors...

With approval Sept. 14 by the Board of Regents, the University of Colorado has introduced seven newly designated distinguished professors, six of whom are affiliated with the CU Boulder campus. They are Natalie Ahn, James Anaya, Elizabeth Fenn, John Lynch, Warren Motte and Roy Parker. From the CU Anschutz Medical...

Pioneering biochemists Natalie Ahn and Karolin Luger have been inducted into the National Academy of Sciences , an honor that recognizes "distinguished and continuing achievements in original research." Membership in the prestigious organization is widely considered to be one of the highest honors that a scientist can receive. "It's really...

Two CU Boulder professors are among the latest group of scientists, politicians, artists and more elected to the American Academy of Arts and Science . The academy, which was founded in 1780 and has claimed such luminaries as Albert Einstein and Margaret Mead as members, “honors exceptional scholars, leaders, artists,...