My research focus is the combination of high resolution structural biology using X-ray crystallography with spectroscopy (UV-visible absorption, resonance Raman and EPR) to understand the ligand-binding and redox properties of metal centres in proteins, primarily copper and haem systems. This approach enables the spectroscopic monitoring of metal and other redox centres in crystals, allowing their active site functional properties to be directly related to the contemporaneously measured crystal… Show more My research focus is the combination of high resolution structural biology using X-ray crystallography with spectroscopy (UV-visible absorption, resonance Raman and EPR) to understand the ligand-binding and redox properties of metal centres in proteins, primarily copper and haem systems. This approach enables the spectroscopic monitoring of metal and other redox centres in crystals, allowing their active site functional properties to be directly related to the contemporaneously measured crystal structures. My group works in the field of serial crystallography using synchrotrons and X-ray free electron lasers. In particular we have strong collaborations with Diamond microfocus beamline I24 (Dr Robin Owen) and the SACLA X-FEL in Hyogo, Japan. We work to develop and application (in collaboration with scientists at the Swiss Light Source) of single crystal optical, resonance Raman and X-ray absorption (XAFS) methodologies as tools to monitor redox and ligand states in metalloprotein crystals during crystallography experiments. Our protein targets include those involved in the nitrogen cycle, cancer biology and gas sensing as well as bioremediation of environmental pollutants and napthenic acid contamination of oil sands wastewaters. Please see my website or Google Scholar page for further details. https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=OCfvOG0AAAAJ&hl=enhttps://www.essex.ac.uk/people/hough20300/mike-hough Show less

I carried out a range of research projects on the structure-function relationship of Cu and Fe metalloproteins.