Should I mention potential mentor's paper in sop?

[Tubulin]

Hi! I'm applying directly to a professor's lab and we've already talked a bit over the phone to discuss potential projects. In my SOP should I refer to those projects we've discussed over the phone (I'm interested in working on them)?

Also, would it be weird to say... Dr. X does work on blah blah blah as in "Published Paper"? I'm trying to show that I've done my own research in the professor and to try give a short intro into why I want to work with them... and their "Published Paper" was part of a project I would have been interested in working on. Thanks!

[Quant_Liz_Lemon]

cite the paper, using whatever format your field uses. For example: I'm very interested in Prof. Strube's work on the psychology of alien abductions (Strube, 1996). I think that his proposed experiment on the escapees is in line with my own paper (Lemon, 2032).