Selected Publications
DNA Repair
Rawal Y, Kwon Y, Jia L, Ruben EA, Ji JH, Guo L, Stratton CM, Nayak D, Tovar M, Fang Q, Jamalruddin MA, Zhou S, Kuppa S, Syed S, Jasper AM, Katz JN, Rogers CM, Kaur H, Samentar L, Zhao W, Dray E, Zhang F, Stoilova-McPhie S, Taylor AB, Burma S, Rao MK, Libich DS, Hromas R, Mazin AV, Jasin M, Zhou D, Bernstein KA, Greene EC, Wasmuth EV, Sung P, Olsen SK. (2026) Structural insight into how RAD51 paralog exchange regulates RAD51 filament formation. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 33:768–781.
Rawal Y, Jia L, Meir A, Zhou S, Kaur H, Ruben EA, Kwon Y, Bernstein KA, Jasin M, Taylor AB, Burma S, Hromas R, Mazin AV, Zhao W, Zhou D, Wasmuth EV, Greene EC, Sung P, Olsen SK. (2023) Structural insights into BCDX2 complex function in homologous recombination. Nature 619:640–649.
Ubiquitin and Ubiquitin-Like Protein Signaling
Nayak D, Jia L, dos Santos Bury P, Ruben EA, Shukla A, Nayak A, Stratton CM, Ebadi P, Cho H, Tumanova AA, Varughese JT, Yuan L, Gao F, Cano KE, Davies C, Sung P, Gack MU, Wasmuth EV, Olsen SK. (2026) Cryo-EM structures of UBA6 reveal mechanisms of E1–E2 specificity and dual FAT10/ubiquitin thioester transfer. Nature Communications 17:3302.
Nayak A, Nayak D, Jia L, Ruben EA, Viswanadhapalli S, Bury PDS, Nassar KM, Yu CH, Tumanova AA, Stratton CM, Ebadi P, Ivanov DN, Sung P, Vadlamudi RK, Wasmuth EV, Olsen SK. (2025) Cryo-EM structures reveal the molecular mechanism of SUMO E1–E2 thioester transfer. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 32:2441–2453.
Nayak D, Lv D, Yuan Y, Zhang P, Hu W, Nayak A, Ruben EA, Lv Z, Sung P, Hromas R, Zheng G, Zhou D, Olsen SK. (2024) Development and crystal structures of a potent second-generation dual degrader of BCL-2 and BCL-xL. Nature Communications 15:2743.
Afsar M, Liu G, Jia L, Ruben EA, Nayak D, Sayyad Z, Bury PDS, Cano KE, Nayak A, Zhao X, Shukla A, Sung P, Wasmuth EV, Gack MU, Olsen SK. (2023) Cryo-EM structures of Uba7 reveal the molecular basis for ISG15 activation and E1–E2 thioester transfer. Nature Communications 14:4786.
Yuan L, Gao F, Lv Z, Nayak D, Nayak A, Bury PDS, Cano KE, Jia L, Oleinik N, Atilgan FC, Ogretmen B, Williams KM, Davies C, El Oualid F, Wasmuth EV, Olsen SK. (2022) Crystal structures reveal catalytic and regulatory mechanisms of the dual-specificity ubiquitin/FAT10 E1 enzyme Uba6. Nature Communications 13:4880.
Yuan L, Lv Z, Adams MJ, Olsen SK. (2021) Crystal structures of an E1–E2–ubiquitin thioester mimetic reveal molecular mechanisms of transthioesterification. Nature Communications 12:2370.
Rut W, Lv Z, Zmudzinski M, Patchett S, Nayak D, Snipas SJ, El Oualid F, Huang TT, Bekes M, Drag M, Olsen SK. (2020) Activity profiling and crystal structures of inhibitor-bound SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease: a framework for anti-COVID-19 drug design. Science Advances 6:eabd4596.
Williams KM, Qie S, Atkison JH, Salazar-Arango S, Diehl JA, Olsen SK. (2019) Structural insights into E1 recognition and the ubiquitin-conjugating activity of the E2 enzyme Cdc34. Nature Communications 10:3296.
Lv Z, Yuan L, Atkison JH, Williams KM, Vega R, Sessions EH, Divlianska DB, Davies C, Chen Y, Olsen SK. (2018) Molecular mechanism of a covalent allosteric inhibitor of SUMO E1 activating enzyme. Nature Communications 9:5145.
Yuan L, Lv Z, Atkison JH, Olsen SK. (2017) Structural insights into the mechanism and E2 specificity of the RBR E3 ubiquitin ligase HHARI. Nature Communications 8:211.
