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How Lipid Rafts Organize GPCR Signaling

This episode features Dr. Keyvan Sedaghat discussing how GPCR function is shaped by lipid raft compartmentalization, the expanding therapeutic landscape of bitter taste receptors, and the importance of data-driven resources. Dr. Sedaghat details the construction of an open-access GPCR-lipid raft database and reviews key findings from his research on D1 receptor desensitization and GRK isoform signaling.

Listeners gain insights into how membrane microdomains modulate GPCR activity, the translational impact of taste receptors in cancer and metabolic diseases, and emerging high-throughput methods for functional assay development. The conversation underscores the ongoing need for rigorous experimental validation following computational predictions. For more on advanced topics in GPCR drug discovery and methods, browse additional episodes at Dr. GPCR Premium.

Why This Matters

How lipid raft microdomains selectively regulate GPCR signaling and internalization
Why the localization of Gα subunits impacts antidepressant drug efficacy and diagnostic innovation
What the functional diversity of bitter taste receptors means for novel therapeutic targets beyond sensory biology
The moment when open-access GPCR data integration improves both research reproducibility and hypothesis generation
How computational approaches and wet-lab validation complement each other in functional assay development

Who Should Listen

If you face complex GPCR questions at the bench or in translational research, this discussion will resonate.

When you’re mapping receptor localization and need to understand the mechanistic role of microdomains
If you’re expanding functional assays to capture non-canonical GPCR roles in disease
When integrating computational predictions with real-world pharmacological readouts
If you see the research value in collaborative, up-to-date GPCR data resources

About the Guest

Keyvan Sedaghat began his scientific training with a pharmacy degree in Iran, then completed his graduate education in cellular and molecular medicine with a specialization in pharmacology at the University of Ottawa. There, under Professor Mario Tiberi, he focused on G protein-coupled receptors and D1 receptor regulation—work that sparked his ongoing engagement with receptor signaling and microdomain biology.

Dr. Sedaghat has accumulated over two decades of teaching and research in pharmacology, contributing as a professor, senior lecturer, editorial board member, and scientific officer in both pharmaceutical and cosmetic sectors. His current efforts bridge teaching in Toronto and ongoing research, including the development of an online GPCR-lipid raft database and investigation of bitter taste receptors’ roles beyond sensory systems. He remains driven by a commitment to rigorous science, data accessibility, and advancing the mechanistic understanding of GPCR pharmacology.