Insights That Move the GPCR Field Forward

Before the islet lit up, the collaboration wasn’t even aimed at imaging. Johannes “JB” Broichhagen trained as a synthetic chemist — someone who trusted carbon–carbon bonds far more than live-cell behavior. Yet curiosity and chemistry pulled him into the world of GLP-1R, pancreatic β-cells, and the biological questions David Hodson had been exploring for years. The call from David — the glowing islet — created a pivot the team couldn’t ignore. A fluorescent peptide probe

Some breakthroughs don’t start with a grant or a roadmap — they start with a question no one expects to matter. For JB, that moment was a cold email from a biologist he’d never met, asking if he could synthesize a molecule “when you’re back in Munich.” That simple ask pulled a young chemist out of the fume hood and into the messy, electrifying world of live-cell biology. What followed — a trip to London, confocal imaging marathons, and a partnership built on trust and c

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) transmit extracellular signals to the inside by activation of intracellular effector proteins....