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<< Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) The Role of Quantitative Sciences in GPCRs with Dr. Nagarajan Vaidehi About Dr. Nagarajan Vaidehi "Nagarajan Vaidehi, Ph.D., is professor and chair of the Department of Computational and Quantitative Medicine (DCQM) at the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope in Los Angeles, CA. She is also the Associate Director of the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Vaidehi received her Ph.D. in quantum chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology in India, where she was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016. Following her postdoctoral studies on protein dynamics simulation methods at University of Southern California, and at Caltech, she became the director of biomolecular simulations at the Materials and Process Simulation Center, Beckman Institute at Caltech. Dr. Vaidehi joined the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope in 2006 as a Professor and became chair of DCQM in 2018. She has advanced the use of computational methods to meet the challenges of designing therapeutics with lower off target effects. She is an internationally recognized biophysicist for her contributions in developing constrained molecular dynamics simulation methods with emphasis on application to G-protein coupled receptors and drug design." Dr. Nagarajan Vaidehi on the web City of Hope Google Scholar LinkedIn Dr. GPCR Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

<< Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Dr. Thomas P. Sakmar About Dr. Thomas P. Sakmar Tom Sakmar is a physician-scientist and professor at Rockefeller University in New York. While a chemistry undergraduate student at the University of Chicago, he attended a NATO Advanced Study Institute in Les Houches, France in 1979 where he was exposed for the first time to the nascent field of membrane biophysics and intercellular communication. Instructors at the course included Marc Chabre , Harden McConnell , Richard Henderson , Martin Rodbell , Jean-Pierre Changeux , and Martin Karplus . After medical school and clinical training at Massachusetts General Hospital, Tom joined the laboratory of H. Gobind Khorana at the Department of Chemistry at M.I.T. for postdoctoral training, where he learned gene synthesis, cDNA cloning, site-directed mutagenesis, and heterologous expression in mammalian cells. Khorana’s lab made early key contributions and developed strategies to express, reconstitute and assay engineered GPCRs using the visual pigment rhodopsin as a model system. Tom initially focused on structure-activity relationships underlying spectral tuning and identified a glutamic acid residue in rhodopsin that serves as the retinylidene Schiff base counterion. He also went on to discover a “counterion switch” in visual pigments and to develop strategies to assay receptor-G-protein interactions and activation kinetics. After moving to Rockefeller University with a Howard Hughes Medical Institute appointment, Tom advanced a series of novel biochemical and biophysical assay platforms, including FTIR and Raman microprobe spectroscopy to study micro-quantities of expressed visual pigment mutants. This work involved active long-term collaborators, including Richard Mathies and Fritz Siebert , and contributed substantially to elucidating the physical chemistry of spectral tuning, and to a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of activation of GPCRs. Many of the conceptual advances that stemmed from this work, such as the concept of “functional micro-domains” and the “helix movement model of receptor activation” were confirmed later when crystal structures became available. Tom’s lab also pioneered the early use of computational homology modeling, molecular dynamics simulations and coarse-grain sampling approaches for membrane proteins in collaborations with Thomas Huber , Xavier Periole , and Siewert-Jan Marrink . Tom’s lab also developed an amber codon suppression method to genetically encode unnatural amino acids into membrane proteins expressed in mammalian cell culture. The genetic code expansion strategy for unnatural amino acid mutagenesis is a key enabling technology for the field and is being used by many laboratories. Early applications included “targeted photo-crosslinking,” and more recently, the parallel development of bioorthogonal labeling strategies to couple fluorophores to expressed receptors and other membrane proteins has allowed the creation of novel sensor constructs and single-molecule detection strategies. Recently, Tom’s lab discovered, along with Yu Chen and Ping Chi , that a mutant of CYSLTR2 is a driver oncogene in uveal melanoma, the most common eye cancer in adults. The CysLTR2 oncoprotein displays biased constitutive activity – it activates Gq/11 but does not undergo β-arrestin-mediated down-regulation. Dr. Thomas P. Sakmar on the web LinkedIn ResearchGate Pubmed ORCHID Google Scholar Rockefeller University Wikipedia Dr. GPCR Ecosystem Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

<< Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Brendan Wilkins About Brendan Wilkins "Brendan completed his undergraduate training at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Australia in 2016 with first class Honours in Pharmacology. In his Honours year, Brendan explored small molecule allosteric modulators of the β2-adrenoceptor under the tutelage of Dr Angela Finch. Since then, Brendan worked as a research assistant at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute where he investigated the orphan G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), GPR37L1. Brendan is now a final year PhD candidate in the Orphan Receptor Laboratory headed by Associate Professor Nicola J Smith at UNSW Sydney, Australia. Brendan’s PhD project focuses on the orphan GPCR GPR146. This project aims to characterise the molecular pharmacology of GPR146 and to validate the proposed ligands of GPR146 in line with IUPHAR-NC guidelines on deorphanisation of orphan GPCRs. Brendan is currently looking for post-doctoral positions to begin in mid-2024" Brendan Wilkins on the web UNSW Sydney Google Scholar ResearchGate LinkedIn Twitter Dr. GPCR Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

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<< Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Dr. Françoise Bachelerie About Dr. Françoise Bachelerie " FB leads a team at Paris-Saclay University with expertise in immunology and virology related to Host/Virus interactions and GPCR function. The team’s projects are devoted to the activation/function of CXCR4-ACKR3 (CXCR7) receptors of the CXCL12 chemokine, key effectors of the immune system, including their role in immunological disorders (e.g. WHIM syndrome) and in the innate control of the life cycle of papillomavirus, which are commensal inhabiting the healthy human epithelium (virome) while presenting an oncogenic potential that remains a major health concern. FB is recognized for her expertise and pioneering works in the field of biological and pathological functions of chemokines and their receptors, for which she made important breakthroughs regarding the CXCL12/CXCR4/ACKR3 trio. In particular, FB contributed to the discovery that CXCL12 is the ligand for the CXCR4 receptor and can therefore prevent infection by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). FB’ team has identified the orphan CXCR7/ACKR3 receptor as being the 2nd receptor for CXCL12, which behaves as a modulator of CXCL12/CXCR4 functions. FB is a member of various international committees in the field, including the one that reviewed the standard nomenclature for chemokine receptors that are categorized into a large subgroup of G protein–coupled (GPCR) leukocyte chemotactic receptors (including CXCR4), and a smaller subgroup of atypical chemokine receptors (including the CXCR7/ACKR3). " Dr. Françoise Bachelerie on the web INSERM ResearchGate SciSpace Loop LinkedIn Dr. GPCR Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

<< Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Dr. Stephen Ferguson The History of the Great Lakes GPCR Retreat with Dr. Stephen Ferguson About Dr. Stephen Ferguson Dr. Stephen Ferguson is a Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa. He did B.Sc. in biology at McGill University and received his Ph.D. under the mentorship of Dr. Brian Collier in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at McGill University (1994). He did his postdoctoral training with Dr. Marc G. Caron at Duke University (1994-1997), where he and his colleagues investigated the role of G protein-coupled receptor kinases and beta-arrestin in regulating G protein-coupled receptor endocytosis, trafficking, and signaling. He has held four Canada Research Chairs since 2001 and was previously a Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada MacDonald Scholar (1998-2003) and Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario Career Investigator (2003-2016). He was a recipient of Canada's Top 40 under 40 award in 2004 and received Queen Elizabeth II, Diamond Jubilee Medal, in 2012. He has also received both Junior (2001) and Senior (2005) investigator awards from the Pharmacological Society of Canada. Most recently, in 2021, he was elected as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Science (FCAHS). His research career has focused on the investigation of the regulation of G protein-coupled receptors signaling mechanisms in health and disease. He currently holds multiple research grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for his research investigating the role of metabotropic glutamate receptor signaling in Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Stephen Ferguson on the web Carlton University Canada Research Chairs Twitter ResearchGate LinkedIn Dr. GPCR Ecosystem Great Lakes GPCR Retreat on the web 21st Great Lakes GPCR Retreat More about previous GPCR Retreat meetings Dr. GPCR Ecosystem Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

Discover how GPR65 reshapes our understanding of GPCR signaling and its role in cancer, with Dr. Ian Chronis on the Dr. GPCR podcast. << Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Signals, pH, and Discovery : Cracking GPCR Mysteries with Dr. Ian Chronis In this episode, we welcome Dr. Ian Chronis, a recent Ph.D. graduate preparing to begin his postdoctoral work at the University of Michigan. Host Yamina Berchiche sets a welcoming tone as they dive into Ian’s unique academic journey—from early interests in medicine to his pivot toward pharmacology and GPCR research. His story offers valuable insights for anyone navigating the path from student to scientist. Ian discusses how his experiences at the University of Chicago and the University of Michigan shaped his scientific curiosity, particularly around G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) . His research centers on the beta-2 adrenergic receptor and GPR65 , a proton-sensing receptor with promising implications in cancer biology. He shares fascinating findings from his work on GPR65 , highlighting its unusual constitutive internalization and its ability to signal from acidic endosomes. This dual functionality—environmental sensing and compartment-specific signaling—offers a new layer of complexity in GPCR behavior. Yamina underscores the therapeutic potential of GPR65, especially in the context of cancer immunotherapy, and how understanding receptor activity in acidic micro environments could unlock new therapeutic strategies. Throughout the episode, Ian reflects on the value of a supportive lab culture , the need for better experimental tools in GPCR signaling , and the importance of engaging with the broader GPCR research community to drive innovation. The conversation wraps with a playful exchange about possible podcast titles, with Yamina suggesting "Ancient Greek Chemistry and GPCRs"—a nod to Ian’s heritage and the wide-ranging themes covered. This episode is both educational and inspiring, offering a behind-the-scenes look at a rising scientist’s journey in the ever-evolving world of GPCR research. About Ian Chronis I recently finished my PhD in the lab of Dr. Manoj Puthenveedu at the University of Michigan, where I am now working as a postdoc. My research has looked at the trafficking and signaling of adrenergic and proton-sensing receptors, with specific focus on identifying novel regulatory proteins governing their function. Ian Chronis on the web LinkedIn Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

<< Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Dr. G. Aditya Kumar About Dr. G. Aditya Kumar Dr. Aditya Kumar is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan Medical School. Aditya is interested in understanding the role of the membrane microenvironment in the subcellular organization, trafficking, and signaling of GPCRs. He received his Ph.D. from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology at Hyderabad, India, where he studied the interaction of membrane cholesterol with the serotonin-1A receptor and its effects on receptor signaling and endocytosis. In addition, he explored the role of the host membrane in the entry of intracellular pathogens into macrophages. He currently uses high-resolution fluorescence microscopy and biochemistry to study GPCR trafficking mechanisms. In his (future) independent research career, Aditya aims to work at the interface of GPCR molecular pharmacology, subcellular trafficking, and membrane biology to better understand how the dynamic receptor microenvironment contributes to GPCR organization and function. Dr. G. Aditya Kumar on the web University of Michigan Puthenveedu Lab Google Scholar NIH ORCID LinkedIn Twitter Dr. GPCR Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

<< Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Dr. Bianca Plouffe About Dr. Bianca Plouffe Dr. Bianca Plouffe obtained her B.Sc. in Biochemistry in 2003 from Université de Sherbrooke (Qc, Canada). She then completed an M.Sc. in Physiology from the same university in 2005 by investigating the molecular mechanisms involved in the angiotensin type 2 receptor (AT2R)-mediated neurite outgrowth while characterizing new selective AT2R agonists. In 2006, Bianca obtained a Doctoral Scholarship from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec en Santé. She moved to the University of Ottawa to complete a Ph.D. in Neuroscience. She identified the molecular mechanisms involved in the opposite regulation of dopamine D1 and D5 receptors by protein kinase C. After obtaining a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in 2012, Bianca joined the research group of Prof Michel Bouvier at Université de Montréal. As part of Bouvier’s team, Bianca used Bioluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer (BRET)-based technology to tackle important questions related to GPCRs. She identified the structural determinant controlling biased signaling of melatonin type 2 receptors in the context of protection against type 2 diabetes. Bianca also collaborated with Prof. Robert Lefkowitz , which led to the finding that both β-arrestin and G protein can simultaneously bind to some GPCRs when signaling in endosomes by forming a megaplex. In 2018, Bianca was appointed Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast to develop her research program. Funded by a Wellcome Trust Seed Award, she investigated biased and compartmentalized G protein signaling by the vasopressin type 2 receptor. In 2021, Bianca secured a permanent position as a lecturer. Her subsequent work has focused on understanding the role of compartmentalized Gq signaling by the cytomegalovirus-encoded chemokine US28 receptor in the context of glioblastoma. Dr. Bianca Plouffe on the web Queen's University Belfast website LinkedIn ResearchGate ORCID Dr. GPCR Ecosystem Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

Dr. Foord reflects on discovering RAMPs, deorphanizing GPCRs, and navigating industrial GPCR pharmacology, target validation, and drug discovery strategy. << Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Foord: Serendipity, RAMPs, And Industrial GPCR Pharmacology Scientific Abstract This conversation traces how GPCR pharmacology, receptor signaling, and drug discovery evolved inside one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical organizations. Dr. Foord reflects on his path from academic neuroendocrinology to introducing molecular biology and molecular pharmacology into Glaxo’s GPCR programs, and on the combination of rigor, bioinformatics, and serendipity that led to several influential discoveries. He describes the purification and cloning of the CGRP receptor, the identification of receptor activity-modifying proteins (RAMPs), and the realization that CGRP signaling required receptor complexes rather than a single seven-transmembrane protein, reshaping thinking about peptide receptor activation and ligand binding. Dr. Foord also discusses work on angiotensin, GABA B, free fatty acid, nicotinic acid, and prostaglandin EP4 receptors, showing how orphan receptors were deorphanized using expression systems, electrophysiology in Xenopus oocytes, and early bioinformatics. The discussion highlights the gap between identifying a target and delivering a drug, the challenges of target validation, and the realities of industrial decision-making around receptor selectivity, safety, and market focus. Along the way, Dr. Foord reflects on the limits and promise of human genetics, the underexploited potential of GPCR antibodies, and the importance of team composition, negative data, and scientific community in navigating complex receptor biology. About the Guest Dr. Foord is a physiologist and pharmacologist who spent more than two decades at Glaxo, Glaxo Wellcome, and GlaxoSmithKline working on GPCR pharmacology and drug discovery. Trained in neuroendocrinology, he helped bring molecular biology into traditionally pharmacology-driven GPCR programs and worked across migraine, cardiovascular, pain, and inflammation projects. His work contributed to the identification of RAMPs in the CGRP receptor system, deorphanization of several GPCRs including GABA B and carboxylic acid receptors, and discovery of a prostaglandin EP4 modulator that advanced as a drug candidate. Later in his career, Dr. Foord led bioinformatics for neuroscience and played a central role in GSK’s early large-scale genetics initiative, integrating GPCR targets, ion channels, transporters, and ligands into association studies. His experience spans receptor cloning, expression systems such as Xenopus oocytes, electrophysiology, molecular pharmacology, and the use of informatics to mine sequence, structural, and genetic data for new receptor targets. Key Insights from the Conversation RAMPs Reframed Peptide GPCR Pharmacology . Dr. Foord explains how attempts to clone the CGRP receptor from SK-N-MC cells, combined with highly sensitive cAMP readouts in Xenopus oocytes, unexpectedly pulled out RAMP1 rather than a conventional seven-transmembrane receptor. The realization that RAMPs co-assemble with CRLR to form CGRP and related receptors forced a reconceptualization of peptide receptor activation and made clear that receptor complexes, not single proteins, could underlie pharmacological specificity. Serendipity Depends on Experimental Design and System Choice . The discovery of RAMPs was only possible because the assay tied receptor signaling to a highly amplified electrophysiological readout, revealing dramatic effects that might have been lost in noisier systems. Similarly, placental tissue became the source for CGRP receptor purification simply because binding studies showed it combined high receptor density with practical availability, illustrating how pragmatic choices in model systems can open unexpected paths in GPCR pharmacology. Deorphanizing Receptors Blends Bioinformatics and Bench Work . Dr. Foord describes a period where his group repeatedly identified ligands for orphan receptors: the second GABA B subunit via yeast two-hybrid, a carboxylic acid receptor when the solvent turned out to be the real agonist, and a nicotinic acid receptor by intersecting tissue expression data with orphan GPCRs. These stories show how careful pharmacology, informed sequence analysis, and attention to apparent artifacts can reveal new receptor signaling pathways relevant for metabolism and cardiovascular disease. Target Validation Is Harder Than Cloning a Receptor . From the non-existent second AT1 angiotensin receptor to the MAS oncogene as a poor angiotensin responder, Dr. Foord emphasizes how easy it is to be misled by overexpressed systems and noisy orphan receptor data. Southern blotting, cross-hybridization, and later genetic analyses ultimately showed that some hypothesized subtypes were artifacts, underscoring that robust target validation is a distinct and often more challenging problem than receptor cloning or initial ligand binding assays. Drug Discovery Is Constrained by Selectivity, Safety, and Strategy . The CGRP story illustrates how structural biology and pharmacology intersect with corporate decisions: once it became clear that the CRLR binding pocket is shared across CGRP, amylin, and adrenomedullin receptors, small-molecule selectivity looked problematic. Later hepatotoxicity concerns and the success of antibody therapeutics further shifted strategy. Similar strategic considerations shaped the fate of the EP4 partial agonist that ultimately found a niche in veterinary medicine rather than human rheumatoid arthritis. Genetics and Informatics Offer Power but Not Simple Answers . As Head of Bioinformatics for Neuroscience, Dr. Foord participated in GSK’s early large-scale association genetics effort, feeding GPCRs, ion channels, and transporters into case–control studies. Apart from APOE4 in Alzheimer’s disease, most signals failed to reach robustness with available cohort sizes, tempering expectations that genetics alone would deliver pipelines of GPCR targets. He argues that integrating structural biology, computational pharmacology, and genetics may still be key to understanding receptor activation in patients, but requires realistic views of effect sizes and trial design. Scientific Careers Depend on Teams, Mentors, and Community . Reflecting on his path from physiology to molecular pharmacology to bioinformatics, Dr. Foord highlights how good mentors, diverse teams, and open sharing of reagents and ideas enabled progress. He stresses the value of lab “optimists and cynics,” the importance of talking about negative results, and the role of informal networks in preventing wasted effort. For younger scientists, his advice centers on doing work you genuinely enjoy, finding supervisors who connect you to the broader GPCR community, and being willing to pivot as new methods and questions emerge. Episode Timeline 00:00 — Early academic work in neuroendocrinology, self-experimentation with TRH and somatostatin, and first encounters with hormones and GPCRs. 02:00 — Move to Roger Craig’s lab, purification of the CGRP receptor from human placenta, and practical considerations in choosing receptor-rich tissues. 05:00 — Transition from academia to Glaxo, early HIV TAT work in Xenopus oocytes, and the emergence of molecular pharmacology within a pharmacology-led organization. 10:30 — Expression cloning of the CGRP system, discovery of RAMP1, and how oocyte electrophysiology revealed a massive potentiation of endogenous CRLR signaling. 18:00 — Industrial migraine programs, small-molecule CGRP antagonists, challenges with selectivity and liver toxicity, and the later success of CGRP antibodies. 20:00 — Angiotensin receptor work, using Southern blots to hunt for a non-existent AT1 subtype, and the MAS oncogene as a cautionary tale in receptor signaling artifacts. 30:00 — Discovery of the prostaglandin EP4 receptor while searching for angiotensin-related sequences, development of an EP4 partial agonist, and its path into veterinary medicine. 34:00 — GABA B receptor complex, identification of the second subunit via yeast two-hybrid, and closing the chapter on proposed additional GABA B subtypes. 39:00 — Large-scale genetics and bioinformatics at GSK, expectations for GPCR target discovery from association studies, and reflections on why many signals remained elusive. 52:00 — Career advice on doing work you enjoy, the importance of mentors and connectedness, and how team composition and negative data shape GPCR research and drug discovery. Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

A conversation with Dr. Silvio Gutkind on keeping a cancer research lab running at 10% occupancy, why rotation students act like a sorting hat, and why breakthroughs come from working hypotheses that fail. << Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Silvio Gutkind: Building a Lab That Doesn't Shut Down Conversations that happen when a research community faces a shared constraint reveal as much about scientific practice as any experiment. Dr. Silvio Gutkind joins this resilience conversation from the UCSD Moores Cancer Center, where cancer patients cannot wait for normalcy to return. For Dr. Gutkind — carrying a personal loss in New York and leading a cancer center building that operated at 93% capacity during the early pandemic — the question was not abstract. He had to decide, week by week, what could pause and what couldn't, and whose careers would bear the cost of getting it wrong. He walks through the structure his team built: staggered schedules at 10–15% occupancy, written contracts with every lab member, a Zoom-based communication cadence, and an internal directive to read, think, plan, and write. The constraint did not slow the science; it redirected it. Bioinformatics projects flourished. Collaborations that would have waited for conferences started immediately. A harder question surfaces underneath: how much of what we call a lab is its physical walls, and how much is the community, the plan, and the willingness to let a failed hypothesis open a new direction? About the Guest Dr. Silvio Gutkind is Professor and Associate Director for Basic Science at the UCSD Moores Cancer Center. His research spans GPCR signaling in cancer biology, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and the molecular circuitry that drives tumor progression. Before moving to La Jolla, he spent decades at the NIH, where he led a branch at NIDCR. That dual lineage — extramural academic and intramural NIH — shapes how he thinks about research infrastructure, student training, and scientific community. Scientific Themes of the Conversation Institutional resilience and the architecture of a research lab under constraint The contract between scientific leadership and trainees during crisis Communication infrastructure as a substitute for physical proximity Chance and opportunity as drivers of a scientific career Rotation students as cross-pollinators between labs Why breakthroughs tend to come from working hypotheses that fail Key Insights from the Conversation Cancer centers don't get to pause. Dr. Gutkind describes operating his cancer research building at 93–94% capacity during the early pandemic because cancer patients couldn't wait for normalcy. The question was never whether to stay open — it was how to stay open safely, and how to absorb the stress that came with that responsibility. The NIH shutdown playbook made UCSD ready. Years at the NIH, where federal shutdowns were routine, gave Dr. Gutkind a pre-built mental model for what to freeze, what to protect, and what to let continue. When the pandemic hit, he reached for an infrastructure he already had. Every lab member needed a contract. Rather than making ad hoc decisions about who would come in and when, the team wrote down expectations — hours, distancing, critical versus deferrable work, and an explicit clause that no one should feel pressured to be on-site. The contract wasn't bureaucracy; it was protection, especially for students. The bioinformatics arm called it "heaven." Computational scientists suddenly had uninterrupted time at home with full data access and far fewer meetings. Dr. Gutkind reports that five years' worth of ideas accumulated in that stretch — more than the lab can realistically work through. "Physical distancing," not "social distancing." A small language correction with structural weight. Dr. Gutkind argues the scientific community grew closer during the pandemic, not further apart — the physical space contracted, but the community expanded through Zoom, shared drives, and unhurried collaboration conversations. Rotation students function like the sorting hat. Because trainees rotate through multiple labs, they carry science from one bench to another. Dr. Gutkind credits several of his most valuable collaborations to a rotation student recognizing a fit that no PI would have spotted from across campus. Breakthroughs come from working hypotheses that fail. Dr. Gutkind reflects that the most significant advances in his career didn't come from confirming a premise — they came from digging into why the premise broke. The discipline is not in being right, but in being willing to let go of the framework you built when the data refuses to fit it. Episode Timeline Timestamps were generated using AI for readability. 00:00 Welcome and introduction 01:46 Navigating research during the pandemic 03:30 Why cancer research couldn't stop 04:30 The NIH shutdown playbook 05:20 Writing the contract: occupancy, staggering, communication 06:50 The productivity paradox — "it's like heaven" 07:55 What will change after the pandemic 09:20 "Physical distancing, not social distancing" 11:31 Chance versus scientific knowledge in a career 12:20 Rotation students as the sorting hat 13:20 When the working hypothesis fails 14:30 Closing Selected Quotes "We have many more ideas than we can handle for at least the next five years." "I wouldn't call it social distancing — I would call physical distancing… as a community, we are even stronger." "These rotation students are like cross-pollination… almost like the sorting hat in Harry Potter." "Quite often, our breakthroughs are more often from when the working hypothesis did not work. The breakthrough came from getting deeper into why." About this episode Dr. J. Silvio Gutkind sheds light on his work and life since the beginning of COVID restrictions. A large component of his work is centered around dysregulated signaling in cancer and the development of novel mechanism-based cancer therapies. In this episode, Dr. J. Silvio Gutkind highlights how his past experience proves useful in current COVID times and potential benefits the changes in work environments can do for future collaborations. Dr. J. Silvio Gutkind on the web Gutkind Lab – UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center Gutkind Lab publications More Publications from the Gutkind Lab on Pubmed Dr. J Silvio Gutkind on LinkedIn Gutkind Lab on Twitter UCSD Moores Cancer Center Dr. GPCR Ecosystem Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

Five scientists audit what AI can and can't do for GPCR drug discovery — from orphan receptors and biased signaling to the true-negatives problem nobody writes into grant proposals. Recorded at the 3rd EARNEST meeting. << Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) EARNEST Panel: Can AI Accelerate GPCR Drug Discovery? In October 2020, five scientists gathered virtually at the 3rd EARNEST meeting to debate a question that has only grown more urgent: can artificial intelligence actually accelerate GPCR drug discovery, or is it mostly a rebranding of methods the field has used for decades? Panelists from InterAx Biotech, Rockefeller University, and the University of New Mexico — computational chemists, systems biologists, structural biologists, and drug-discovery veterans — drew on their combined experience to separate what machine learning can credibly do for GPCR research from what still depends on pharmacological judgment. The conversation moves from definitional clarity (AI is not machine learning, and neither is simple computational modeling) to the practical realities of building usable datasets, deorphanizing receptors, handling generative models, and confronting the true-negatives problem that quietly breaks so many published models. For any scientist whose grant proposal now contains the phrase "machine learning" whether they fully believe in it or not, this panel is an honest audit of what the technology can deliver today and where it still falls short. About the Panelists Dr. Maria Waldhoer is Chief Scientific Officer at InterAx Biotech in Switzerland. A pharmacologist by training, she spent more than six years in early R&D at Novo Nordisk before turning to systems biology approaches for connecting in vitro signaling data to in vivo drug behavior. Dr. Aurélien Rizk is Chief Technology Officer at InterAx Biotech. Trained as a mathematician and computer scientist, his doctoral work focused on developing new methods for modeling GPCR signaling pathways. Dr. Yaroslav Nikolaev is a scientist at InterAx Biotech with a dual background in biology and computation. His research combines biomolecular NMR, structural biology, and machine learning to study how GPCRs function dynamically. Dr. Thomas Sakmar has run a laboratory at Rockefeller University for roughly thirty years. His group contributed to the early cloning of GPCRs in the mid-1980s and has since pushed the boundaries of GPCR biochemistry — including early homology modeling, coarse-grained molecular dynamics, and genetic code expansion for site-specific chemistry on receptors. Dr. Tudor Oprea is Principal Investigator at the University of New Mexico and coordinator of the Illuminating the Druggable Genome Knowledge Management Center. An MD-PhD who has practiced machine learning since 1989, he built Pharos, the public-facing data platform for the IDG program, and co-developed G1, the first agonist for GPR30, which reached an IND for melanoma. Scientific Themes of the Conversation The definitional boundary between AI, machine learning, and computational modeling Data quality as the rate-limiting step for machine learning in GPCR pharmacology Orphan receptor deorphanization and the limits of learning from known peptides Generative models, scoring functions, and the role of molecular dynamics in ligand design The true-negatives problem and how it distorts biological models The hybrid future: chemical intuition, experimental judgment, and where computation still falls short Key Insights from the Conversation AI and machine learning are not the same thing, and the difference matters. Machine learning finds patterns in defined datasets; AI aims to substitute for human reasoning more broadly. Using the terms interchangeably blurs what each approach can realistically deliver in a pharmacology workflow. The barrier isn't messy data — it's missing metadata. Most pharmacology datasets aren't useless for ML; they're incomplete. Buffers, incubation temperatures, time points, co-expression conditions, the specific Emax reference — these are the details that determine whether a dataset can be pooled with others or must stand alone. Deorphanization via AI is possible, but constrained by what we already know. Random-forest classifiers trained on known peptide ligands can find new orphan-receptor pairings. But the remaining orphans may be orphans precisely because they don't resemble anything we've characterized — which caps what this class of model can find. The bottleneck in structure-guided ML isn't the algorithm. The panel agreed that the real limits are the availability of high-resolution GPCR structures and the computational cost of molecular dynamics simulations needed to capture the dynamic conformations behind signaling. True negatives quietly wreck biological models. Most published models rely on inferred negatives — genes or molecules assumed inactive by convenience. When one panelist replaced inferred negatives in an autophagy model with CRISPR-validated true negatives, the model's predictions changed radically. Chemical intuition has no AI equivalent yet — and won't soon. The experience of a seasoned medicinal chemist mentally docking a molecule from a 2D structure is not a skill current models replicate. The panel expects a hybrid future, not a replacement one, for the next five to ten years. Olfactory GPCRs remain a trillion-dollar opportunity the field has largely ignored. GPCR-targeting drugs represent roughly 0.9 trillion dollars in global sales across 75 countries. Olfactory GPCRs — which account for a large fraction of the receptor class — have been systematically sidestepped for lack of tractable in vitro screening methods. Episode Timeline 00:00 Welcome from Yamina Berchiche 01:36 Panelist introductions 11:41 AI vs machine learning — the definitions that matter 15:21 The undrugged majority: 400 non-olfactory GPCRs, only 160 drugged 20:12 What makes a pharmacology dataset usable for machine learning 24:41 Advice for small academic labs entering the field 30:34 Can AI help deorphanize understudied receptors? 37:01 Reading GPCR signaling dynamics with computational models 39:53 Generative models, scoring functions, and molecular dynamics 50:32 The true-negatives problem and the limits of inferred datasets 52:30 Hype vs reality in AI drug discovery 55:05 Where the GPCR field goes in the next five years Timestamps were generated using AI for readability. Selected Quotes "My computational team told me, 'this receptor is not using arrestin to internalize. There has to be an arrestin-independent thing there.' And I'm like, that's rubbish. Never picked it up. Complete rubbish. And then a year later or so, I get a call from a colleague who said, 'oh, we've tested this compound as a negative control because we thought it doesn't need arrestin to internalize. And now we put it in this CRISPR knockout cell and — it does.'" — Dr. Maria Waldhoer "In 1989, as a med student in Romania, I used BASIC to model the variation in heart rate and blood pressure for 11 patients. I wrote an 11 polynomial that fit everything, so I thought I had solved the problem with drug discovery. I have learned a lot since." — Dr. Tudor Oprea "Dan Rich worked on HIV protease inhibitors. He would look at the 2D structure and basically mentally do a docking and tell you whether that's a good protease inhibitor or not. I think there are people who have worked in the GPCR field that can do a similar exercise." — Dr. Tudor Oprea "If you only make big enough numbers, big enough networks, big enough algorithms, suddenly intelligence pops out on the other side. [Roger Penrose] said, well, it's simply because they cannot think of anything else to do yet." — Dr. Maria Waldhoer About this episode Listen to this fantastic round table discussion that I had the privilege to moderate with Alexander Hauser . Our guests were Maria Waldhoer , Tudor I. Oprea , Thomas Sakmar , Aurelien Rizk & Yaroslav Nikolaev . The explosion of biomedical data such as in genomics, structural biology, and pharmacology can provide new opportunities to improve our understanding of human physiology and disease. In recent years, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) methods have received a significant boost in attention. ML/AI can be powerful for identifying abstract patterns within large data where traditional methods would be oblivious to. This comes without the need for manual feature engineering as systems can learn through implicit rules from the data provided. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) mediate a vast variety of critical biological processes and provide an ideal case study for quantitative, and multi‐scale integration of these amounts of data to gain novel insights into receptor biology. How can we best leverage these exciting new techniques in areas such as protein structure prediction, bioactive ligand discovery, in-vivo translation ability, or in our understanding of signaling determinants? Here, we would like to discuss the opportunities, weaknesses, and advantages of these new technologies, which may contribute to probe our favorite targets at all scales. For more information on the ERNEST network, visit https://ernest-gpcr.eu/ . Dr. Yamina Berchiche on the web Website LinkedIn Publications Twitter Facebook Dr. GPCR Ecosystem Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

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Sokhom Pin shares how he built a biotech career around GPCRs, designed a custom PhD path, and led teams through empowerment and purpose. << Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) GPCR Pharmacology, Career Twists & Serendipity with Sokhom Pin From the Bench to the Boardroom Sokhom Pin’s story begins not with prestige or privilege but with grit and commitment. From his early work as a technician at Johns Hopkins Hospital to leading biology at Servo Therapeutics, Sokhom’s journey is rooted in practicality and purpose. He shares: "All my industry experience has been GPCR-focused." Starting at DuPont, then BMS, Novartis, and eventually founding in vitro pharmacology departments, Sokhom always stayed anchored to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Family First, Always The decision to shift from academia to industry wasn’t driven by disillusionment—it was about responsibility. “I had two kids and realized I just couldn’t support a family on a technician’s salary.” This pragmatic decision led him to high-throughput screening at DuPont, proving that scientific ambition doesn’t have to mean sacrificing personal commitments. Falling in Love with GPCRs GPCR pharmacology captured his scientific curiosity. Sokhom recalls how binding assays at BMS introduced him to the depth and complexity of receptor pharmacology: “It’s not just about IC50s. There’s allosterism, receptor desensitization… it opened a whole new world.” This moment became pivotal—transforming technical proficiency into passion. Designing a Non-Traditional PhD While working full-time, Sokhom architected a one-of-a-kind PhD program between BMS and UConn. “I had to find a way. I wanted a PhD, but I couldn’t quit my job.” Through strategic coordination, he executed a PhD entirely in the industry setting—efficient, targeted, and rooted in real-world projects like CGRP receptor antagonists. From Scientist to Leader At Alkermes, Sokhom took his first leadership role and finally experienced the power of empowerment . “That’s the moment that changed my entire career. I was trusted to build a team from scratch.” He focused on culture—ensuring passion and purpose drove performance. The Power of the Right Culture Whether it was Alkermes or Cerevel, Sokhom emphasized that team culture trumps individual genius . “It doesn’t matter how brilliant someone is—if they’re toxic, I don’t want them on the team.” He built what others called the “happiest team at Alkermes,” showing that joy and scientific rigor aren’t mutually exclusive. Network or Miss Out One powerful shift came when Sokhom leaned into networking—despite being an introvert. “I changed from being an extreme introvert to someone who thrives on connection.” His story underscores how something as simple as forwarding a resume or reaching out for coffee can change careers. The Lifecycle of GPCR Popularity Sokhom has witnessed the waves of scientific fashion: “There was a time GPCRs were hot, then ignored. Now they’re back.” His unwavering dedication through these cycles became an asset—many others shifted focus, leaving a smaller, highly skilled group of GPCR specialists. Lessons from Molecules and Mentors He draws inspiration from scientific complexity and colleagues like Arthur Christopoulos and Terry Kenakin. “What fascinates me is how the same molecule behaves differently depending on one amino acid.” He blends classical receptor pharmacology with biosensor technology, always adapting to new tools and insights. Don’t Let Weakness Define You The episode ends with a deeply human reflection: “Don’t let your weakness define your life. Overcome it. I used to sweat thinking about presentations. Now I love them.” Whether it’s networking, leadership, or technical mastery, Sokhom’s message is clear: keep evolving, and don’t settle. Key Takeaway Sokhom Pin's journey is a masterclass in scientific persistence , non-traditional success , and values-driven leadership . For any scientist navigating career uncertainty—his story is both roadmap and inspiration. About Sokhom Pin Sokhom Pin is a receptor pharmacologist with over 20 years of drug discovery research in the pharmaceutical industry, where he works mainly on GPCRs as therapeutic targets. He is passionate about mechanistic profiling of therapeutic molecules as well as drug discovery in general. Outside of science Sokhom enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, boating, fishing, and biking. Sokhom Pin on the web LinkedIn Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

<< Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Dr. Terry Kenakin About Dr. Terry Kenakin After obtaining a BSc in chemistry at the University of Alberta Edmonton Canada, Terry received his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Alberta, Department of Chemistry, Canada. Dr. Kenakin then moved to the UK, where he did a post-doctoral fellowship in University College London with Sir James Black. His next stop took him to Burroughs-Wellcome (BW) in Research Triangle Park (RTP) in North Carolina USA. After 7 years at BW, Dr. Kenakin joined Glaxo Inc in RTP where he remained for 25 years through iterations of Glaxo Inc, GlaxoWellcome , and finally GlaxoSmithKline . Since 2011, Terry works at the Department of Pharmacology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine Chapel Hill NC. His interests are in receptor pharmacology, allosteric protein function, and drug discovery. Dr. Terry Kenakin on the web LinkedIn UNC Department of Pharmacology Amazon ResearchGate Pubmed . Dr. GPCR Ecosystem Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

<< Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Brian Shoichet About Dr. Brian Shoichet BSc in Chemistry from MIT, Ph.D. with Tack Kuntz at UCSF; Postdoc with Brian Matthews in protein stability-activity tradeoffs, crystallography; started my independent lab at Northwestern University Medical School (1996) was recruited back to UCSF in 2003. Dr. Brian Shoichet on the web Google Scholar Shoichet Lab Twitter Dr. GPCR Ecosystem Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

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<< Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) You never know where your GPCR takes you with Dr. Brian Hudson About Brian Hudson Brian is a lecturer in the School of Molecular Biosciences at the University of Glasgow. He has more than 20 years of experience in GPCR, primarily focused on drug discovery and developing new tools to study this receptor family. He leads a research group that is focused on understanding the pharmacology and function of a group a GPCRs that are activated by metabolic intermediates. Brian Hudson on the web University of Glasgow Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

Alessandro Nicoli shares how he models olfactory GPCRs with AlphaFold, mentors students, and builds science from scratch in a new lab. A fresh look at computational GPCR research. << Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Smells Like GPCR Spirit: Cracking Olfactory Codes with Alessandro Nicoli The Accidental Path to Science Alessandro Nicoli didn’t grow up knowing he’d be a scientist. Like many, his path to GPCR research wasn’t linear—it evolved through academic exploration and mentorship. “I think I don’t have a linear trajectory… the beauty of seeing molecule design and reactions—thinking you can create molecules—was really exciting.” – Alessandro Nicoli He studied pharmaceutical chemistry in Padua, where his fascination with molecular design first took shape. But it wasn’t until meeting an inspiring professor, Prof. Moro, that he truly saw how molecules could go beyond the bench and interact with biology in powerful ways. The Moment Chemistry Met Biology Nicoli’s turning point came when he realized that molecules weren’t static—they could act , bind , and modulate biological targets. “It was not just a molecule—it was a partner that goes to interact with something else… a protein, DNA, RNA. That opened up a new world.” – Alessandro Nicoli That early spark led him to discover the role of medicinal chemistry and, eventually, molecular modeling. For Nicoli, chemistry became more than reactions—it became a bridge to biological insight. Falling for Computational Chemistry The "second academic love" arrived during his master’s thesis, where Nicoli dove into computational chemistry. “I got to know computational chemistry through a project on BCL2 proteins and drug discovery… I was in love with the topic.” – Alessandro Nicoli Working on docking and NMR studies for cancer-related proteins, he discovered the power of simulation in revealing molecular interactions. That experience convinced him to pursue a PhD and deepen his computational skills—eventually leading him to GPCRs. Finding the Right Mentor and Lab A birthday email changed everything. Professor Moro forwarded a PhD opening from Prof. Antonella Di Pizio’s lab in Munich. It felt serendipitous—and it was. “We had a super match… and after a month, I was already in Germany. I was her first PhD student.” – Alessandro Nicoli Starting from scratch in a young lab wasn’t easy, but it created a unique bond between PI and student. Nicoli thrived in this setting—helping shape the lab and its direction, particularly in computational studies of olfactory GPCRs . GPCRs, Receptors of Infinite Variety When asked about his favorite GPCR, Nicoli refused to pick. “Let’s embrace the challenge to study all of them… they’re unique in how they bind ligands, how selective they are.” – Alessandro Nicoli He emphasized that olfactory receptors , while underexplored, present an incredible challenge. With hundreds of subtypes and very few known ligands, the structure–function relationships remain largely mysterious—and incredibly exciting for a computational chemist. AlphaFold: A Turning Point in GPCR Research When Nicoli began his PhD, AlphaFold hadn’t yet revolutionized the field. But once released, it changed everything. “AlphaFold gave us a face to those proteins… now we have 400 models to start with.” – Alessandro Nicoli He explained how AlphaFold’s predictions, surprisingly close to experimental structures, provided a powerful starting point for docking, dynamics, and ligand design—especially for receptors previously “invisible” to structural biology. Modeling the Invisible: Olfactory Receptors Nicoli’s work centers on predicting ligand binding and receptor behavior for olfactory GPCRs. “The main challenge was: how do we get a face for these proteins when we don’t have ligands?” – Alessandro Nicoli He shared a detailed case study of working on a specific odorant receptor (R5VK1), where they leveraged known active/inactive ligands to validate models through iterative refinement , molecular docking , and mutagenesis-guided optimization . The goal? Build predictive models to discover new ligands . Why Molecular Dynamics Matters For Nicoli, molecular dynamics is more than simulation—it’s how we watch biology move . “You simulate over time… see how receptors move in physiological conditions, with water, membranes, ligands.” – Alessandro Nicoli He emphasized that MD allows researchers to observe allosteric changes , mutation effects , and even ligand entry/exit paths , offering dynamic insights that static structures cannot. It’s a critical complement to experimental work. From Researcher to Mentor: Growing Together Outside his research, Nicoli mentors students, manages interns, and even lectures. Balancing this with a PhD isn't easy, but it’s deeply rewarding. “You have people that rely on you… but you grow together, and that’s the most powerful thing.” – Alessandro Nicoli He reflected on learning to delegate—how hard it was initially to hand over tasks—but how vital it is for team science. He now sees mentoring as a way to shape the next generation while evolving himself as a scientist. Advice, Tools, and the Future of GPCR Research Nicoli offered advice to wet-lab scientists curious about computational work: Start with passion. Learn Python. Explore online resources like “Talktorials.” “We’re living in a golden era for computational chemistry… the tools are out there. You just need the motivation to explore.” – Alessandro Nicoli As for what’s next? More structures, better tools, and deeper insights into the elegant, complex world of GPCRs. He sees a future where wet and dry labs converge , and where computational methods are fully integrated into GPCR drug discovery pipelines. Key Takeaway Alessandro Nicoli’s journey is a compelling example of how computational chemistry can unlock new frontiers in GPCR research , especially in complex areas like olfactory receptors. By bridging structural prediction, molecular dynamics, and ligand discovery, his work not only deciphers biological mysteries but also inspires a new generation of scientists to think computationally. About Alessandro Nicoli Alessandro Nicoli is currently a PhD student in the Molecular Modeling group led by Prof. Dr. Antonella Di Pizio at the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich (Germany). He obtained an MSc degree in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technology from the University of Padua (Italy). His training and passion for computational chemistry started in 2019 during his time at the Molecular Modeling Section (MMS) under the supervision of Prof. Stefano Moro, where he worked on integrated Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and computational modeling strategies to target the antiapoptotic BCL-2 protein family, key regulators of cell survival, using small molecules. He then moved to Germany in 2019 to pursue his PhD. His research focuses on a group of 400 transmembrane proteins known as olfactory receptors, which mediate the sense of smell. Beyond the olfactory epithelium, these receptors are expressed in various tissues, where they play important but not yet fully understood roles in various physiological and pathological processes. Despite their relevance, they remain understudied due to the limited knowledge of their ligands and the lack of experimental structures. Alessandro PhD work aims to fill these gaps by leveraging computational structure-based tools and develop specific protocols to accelerate OR ligand discovery and improve our understanding of olfactory function at the molecular level. Alessandro Nicoli on the web Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich Technical University of Munich Google Scholar Pubmed ORCID ResearchGate X Bluesky Github Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. 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<< Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Dr. Ilana Kotliar About Dr. Ilana Kotliar "Ilana Kotliar is a postdoctoral associate in the lab of Tom Sakmar at The Rockefeller University, where she just recently defended her PhD thesis. Ilana uses chemical biology-based methods to study the regulation and protein-protein interactions of GPCRs and a small family of accessory proteins called RAMPs. Ilana’s research is multi-disciplinary and involves a close collaboration with proteomics experts at The Science for Life Laboratory in Sweden. She is a recipient of the prestigious Women in Entrepreneurship Award, an NIH T32 Training Grant, and two Nicholson Fellowships. Outside of the lab, Ilana is a leader within her community, spearheading several outreach initiatives including a global mentoring initiative that matches graduate student mentors to PhD applicants. Ilana graduated Summa cum laude from Cornell University, where she studied Chemistry and Chemical Biology and was recognized as a Merrill Presidential Scholar." Dr. Ilana Kotliar on the web Google Scholar LinkedIn Twitter Dr. GPCR Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

<< Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Dr. Josh Pottel About Dr. Josh Pottel "I lead Molecular Forecaster Inc. (MFI): a reliable, self-sustaining computational chemistry service provider, developing its own software for application in various drug discovery campaigns. I have extensive training in computer-aided drug design. I completed my PhD at McGill University in the lab of Prof. Nicolas Moitessier, and went on to a postdoc with Prof. Brian Shoichet at UCSF. While in San Francisco, I completed Startup101 - a course a offered by the entrepreneurship center. I am now combining my training as a chemist and as an entrepreneur to grow a sustainable service and software provider in drug discovery. More broadly, I hope to be a critical contributor to a growing Canadian biotech sector in both scientific research and fostering entrepreneurship." Dr. Josh Pottel on the web Molecular Forecaster LinkedIn BlueSky Google Scholar Twitter Dr. GPCR Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

When his lab closed in 2020, Dr. Paul Insel turned dry-lab science into a reframing of COVID-19 pathobiology as a GPCR signaling imbalance — and a figure in The Economist. << Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Paul Insel: Rethinking COVID-19 Pathobiology Through GPCR Signaling In the spring and summer of 2020, pharmacologist Dr. Paul Insel did something unusual for a working lab scientist: he stopped pipetting, and started writing. With his UC San Diego postdoc Krishna Sriram, he reread the literature on ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers in the context of severe acute respiratory illness and concluded — against a swell of clinical panic — that the case for their danger in COVID-19 didn't hold up. What came next was a series of papers reframing severe COVID-19 as a disease of signaling imbalance: an overdrive of AT1R activation by angiotensin II, paired with a loss of ACE2-generated angiotensin 1-7. The therapeutic logic that follows is less about attacking the virus and more about rebalancing a GPCR-driven system that the infection has thrown off-axis. A figure from that British Journal of Pharmacology paper was later redrawn by The Economist for a general-audience article on COVID pathobiology — an unexpected crossover for work that began as armchair science during a lockdown walk. This conversation matters to Dr. Insel personally because he is, in his own words, a vulnerable patient — immunosuppressed, older, asthmatic — and what he's describing is not abstract. It's what he would want a physician to understand if he were the one in the hospital bed. About the Guest Dr. Paul Insel is Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine at UC San Diego, where he also co-directs the MD-PhD program. His research career has centered on GPCR signaling — with particularly deep work on beta-adrenergic receptors, cyclic AMP regulation, and receptor biology across tissue systems. Beyond the lab, he has been a long-standing contributor to the Goodman & Gilman textbook of pharmacology and is writing its next chapter on angiotensin signaling and angiotensin drugs. He is also involved nationally in MD-PhD program leadership. Scientific Themes of the Conversation The angiotensin imbalance hypothesis of COVID-19 pathobiology — AT1R overdrive versus ACE2/Ang 1-7 insufficiency Drug repurposing as a pandemic strategy — from ACE inhibitors and ARBs to PAR1 and PAR4 antagonists The "gas pedals and brakes" philosophy of cell signaling and pharmacology Dry-lab pharmacology and what becomes possible when wet-lab work stops GPCR density and tissue-specific therapeutic opportunity — type II pneumocytes, beta-2 receptors, and the asthma parallel The ethics of acting on conviction — off-label drug use during a pandemic Key Insights from the Conversation The ACE inhibitor scare was built on a bogus reading of the literature. Early in the pandemic, senior clinicians were stopping their own ACE inhibitors and ARBs based on hypothesis-driven fears of worse outcomes. Dr. Insel and Krishna Sriram went to the primary data and concluded the claim was not supported. The review was accepted at Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics within weeks. Severe COVID-19 may be a story of signaling imbalance, not just viral damage. The British Journal of Pharmacology paper reframes pathobiology as an imbalance between AT1R activation and ACE2-generated angiotensin 1-7. If the virus disrupts one arm of this receptor-peptide system, the therapeutic question stops being "what do we add?" and becomes "what do we rebalance?" Biology runs on opposing forces, and good pharmacology learns to see them. Kinases and phosphatases. Cyclases and phosphodiesterases. ACE1 and ACE2. Dr. Insel returns repeatedly to his "gas pedals and brakes" frame — a lens that has quietly shaped how he reads both disease mechanism and drug targets across a long career. The lung's beta-2 story has been sitting in plain sight for fifty years. Type II pneumocytes carry the highest beta-2 receptor density in the body. Long-acting beta-agonists paired with glucocorticoids have been the mainstay of asthma treatment for decades. The connection to acute respiratory distress syndrome — and to the mechanism through which dexamethasone actually works — is, in his reading, underdiscussed rather than speculative. "Don't just do something. Stand there." A clinical mentor's line that became the frame for the lockdown months. Four papers in roughly two months — what Dr. Insel calls armchair science. Not casual, not opinion-writing; dry-lab pharmacology done with the same seriousness as bench work, just with different tools. A figure can travel further than the paper it came from. The schematic from the BJP paper was redrawn by The Economist, with attribution, for a general-audience article on COVID pathobiology. Dr. Insel notes wryly that it's the only paper his family has ever really responded to. The ethics of acting on conviction is its own paper. Midway through writing the angiotensin work, Dr. Insel realized no one had written criteria for how to decide about off-label use of a drug during a pandemic — when mechanism is compelling, safety is reasonable, and trial evidence isn't there yet. He is writing that paper with an ethicist and a law-school colleague. It is exactly the kind of work a pharmacologist does when the lab is closed. Episode Timeline Timestamps were generated using AI for readability. 00:00 Opening and 2020 Summit context 01:45 Dry-lab science — how the work shifted when the wet lab closed 02:37 Rereading the ACE inhibitor scare — and the BJP paper that followed 07:40 Expanding the hypothesis — PAR1, PAR4, and upstream pathobiology 11:00 Gas pedals and brakes — biology's architecture of opposing forces 14:00 Type II pneumocytes, beta-2 density, and the asthma parallel 22:40 The ethics of off-label drug use during a pandemic 25:00 Genetic determinants of severity — ACE1 isoforms and population data 28:40 Vaccine development speed and public trust 33:40 Staying sane — pickleball, walking, and community Selected Quotes "Don't just do something. Stand there. That's sort of what we've been doing. And I think we've made some contributions that are pretty interesting. I really want to do something to help people. That's what this is all about, really." — Dr. Paul Insel "Almost most biological systems are all about gas pedals and brakes. We have kinases and phosphatases. We have cyclases that make cyclic AMP and phosphodiesterases that degrade it. Nature has built in these systems consistently." — Dr. Paul Insel "If you would have told me three months ago that I was going to end up having a figure in The Economist — forget about one of the science journals — in The Economist…" — Dr. Paul Insel "It's still about GPCRs." — Dr. Paul Insel About this episode Dr. Paul Insel is currently a Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and the University of California San Diego. Paul thinks broadly about science and has been actively publishing papers about his ideas on how COVID symptoms could be treated while we wait for a vaccine, particularly about ACE2 and angiotensin. For the past 30 years, he has been the Director of MD/Ph.D. training program at UCSD and has served as Editor or Senior Editor of numerous scientific journals, including but not limited to the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Molecular Pharmacology, British Journal of Pharmacology, and American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology. Dr. Paul Insel on the web Insel Laboratory Institute of Engineering in Medicine UC San Diego UCSD Profiles Google PubMed Dr. GPCR Ecosystem Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. 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<< Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Dr. Aylin Hanyaloglu About Dr. Aylin Hanyaloglu Dr. Aylin Hanyaloglu has been a Principal Investigator at Imperial College London since 2007. She received her BSc in Human Biology from King’s College London in 1997, and while her Ph.D. commenced at the MRC Human Reproductive Sciences Centre, Edinburgh, a move to Perth, Australia resulted in her Ph.D. in Molecular Endocrinology being awarded in 2002 with Distinction from the University of Western Australia. Dr. Hanyaloglu undertook her postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco with Professor Mark von Zastrow where she identified novel core cellular machinery critical for G protein-coupled receptor trafficking and signaling. Her research focuses on understanding the fundamental cell biological mechanisms regulating GPCR activity, including spatial control of GPCR signaling and receptor crosstalk, and applying these mechanisms for distinct GPCRs in diverse physiological and pathophysiological systems, with particular focus on women's health, pregnancy, and nutrient sensing in the gut. Her work is currently funded by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Diabetes UK, Wellcome Trust, and the Medical Research Council. Dr. Aylin Hanyaloglu on the web LinkedIn Researchgate Twitter Imperial College London Elsevier Loop Dr. GPCR Ecosystem Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

<< Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Dr. Richard Premont About Dr. Richard Premont "Dr. Premont obtained his B.S. in Biology and Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology in 1985, and M.Ph . and Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences (Pharmacology) at Mount Sinai School of Medicine (City University of New York) in 1990 and 1992, working with Ravi Iyengar on regulation/desensitization of the liver glucagon receptor and glucagon-stimulated adenylyl cyclase system. In 1992, he won a Helen Hay Whitney Foundation fellowship to support his post-doctoral work with Robert Lefkowitz and Marc Caron at Duke University. His initial project to identify and clone taste receptors was unsuccessful, but led to the identification of GRK5 and continued focus on GRKs (particularly GRKs 4,5,6) and arrestins as GPCR regulators and as mediators of distinct signaling pathways through partners including GIT1. In 1999, obtained an independent faculty position at Duke in Gastroenterology, where he remained until 2018 studying GPCRs and their signaling pathways in the liver and in liver disease. In 2018, he moved to Harrington Discovery Institute and Case Western Reserve University, where he studies GPCR regulation by S-nitrosylation. My research focus is on understanding how distinct cellular signaling pathways interact and are coordinated to produce integrated physiological responses, and how dysregulation of this coordination results in pathophysiology. For this, we have worked in three main areas: the regulation of G protein-coupled receptor signaling particularly by the G protein-coupled receptor kinase (GRK) – beta-arrestin system, the coordination of heterotrimeric G protein, small GTP-binding protein and protein kinase pathways by GIT/PIX scaffolding complexes during cellular signaling, and characterizing the role of protein S-nitrosylation as a signaling post-translational modification in mediating and regulating cellular signaling pathways, particularly in conjunction with better characterized signaling systems. In our work, we utilize methods including structural biology and proteomics, molecular biology and biochemical enzymology, primary and model cell culture, and transgenic, knockout, knock-in and conditional models of mouse physiology and behavior." Dr. Richard Premont on the web Google Scholar LinkedIn Dr. GPCR Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

<< Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Dylan Eiger About Dylan Eiger Dylan Eiger is currently an MD/Ph.D. student at Duke University School of Medicine. He received his B.S. in Chemistry from Duke University in 2016 where he worked in the lab of Dr. Stephen Craig and studied polymer chemistry and material science. He is currently finishing his Ph.D. in the lab of Dr. Sudarshan Rajagopal, a former postdoctoral fellow of Dr. Robert J. Lefkowitz . Dylan's graduate research focuses on the mechanisms underlying biased signaling at GPCRs, specifically, the role of differential receptor phosphorylation (phosphorylation barcodes) and subcellular GPCR signaling in directing functionally selective responses. He primarily studies the chemokine receptor CXCR3 as it has three naturally occurring ligands and thus serves as an endogenous example of biased agonism. After finishing his MD/Ph.D., Dylan plans to complete his residency training in Internal Medicine and subsequently pursue fellowship training in Cardiology. He hopes to continue his research on biased agonism at GPCRs with a particular focus on the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Dylan Eiger on the web LinkedIn Twitter PubMed Website Dr. GPCR Ecosystem Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

Join the Adhesion GPCR Workshop 2024 in Mexico City at CINVESTAV, bringing together researchers to explore the latest in GPCR science. Welcome to the Adhesion GPCR Workshop 2024 , hosted in the vibrant heart of Mexico City at the prestigious venue, CINVESTAV - Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN (in English: Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute). About the venue Cinvestav: Centro de investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional no 2508 Mexico City, C.P. 07360 Room: Auditorium Arturo Rosenblueth *Have an ID card ready (Passport, Driver's license, etc), as this will be required at the venue entrance Register now to join the exclusive Adhesion GPCR Workshop group and stay updated with all the latest event news. Preliminary Program Layout Date Time Title October 23, 2024 October 24, 2024 October 25, 2024 *Flash Presentations: 10 min *Talks 20 min (15 min+ 5 min questions Everything you need to know about the event Listen to Dr. Antony Boucard and Dr. Yamina Berchiche at the Dr.GPCR Newsletter Meet the Organizers behind the AGPCR24 Antony Boucard Jr, PhD Host and Organizer Cinvestav, Mexico City Yamina Berchiche, PhD Co-organizer Dr. GPCR, Boston Andreína Martín Website & Social Media Coordinator Dr. GPCR, Boston Ivanna Rey Executive Assistant Dr. GPCR, Boston

<< Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Dr. Patrick Sexton About Dr. Patrick Sexton Patrick Sexton is a Professor of Pharmacology, National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Senior Principal Research Fellow, and Director of the Australian Research Council Centre for Cryo-electron Microscopy of Membrane Proteins ( www.ccemmp.org ). He is a leader in the study of GPCRs, biased agonism, and also on allosteric interactions between GPCRs and other proteins and small molecule ligands. More recently, his team has been at the forefront of the application of cryo-EM to elucidate of the structure and dynamics of GPCRs. Prof. Sexton has published over 320 peer-reviewed journal articles and has been cited >26,000 times (Google Scholar). He is a 2021 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher in two disciplines: Pharmacology & Toxicology and Biology & Biochemistry, a corresponding member of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology Committee on Receptor Nomenclature and Drug Classification, and a member of the Faculty of 1000 (Molecular Pharmacology division) and an elected Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society (BPS). Prof. Sexton’s awards include the Australasian Society for Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists (ASCEPT) Lecturer award, Endocrine Society of Australia Senior Plenary award, Rand Medal (ASCEPT), Paxinos-Watson Award (Australian Neuroscience Society), Vane Medal (BPS), Gordon Hammes Lectureship Award (American Chemical Society) and the GSK Research Excellence award. Prof. Sexton is also a co-founder of the San Francisco-based biotechnology company Septerna Inc . Dr. Patrick Sexton on the web CCeMMP Monash University Dr. GPCR Ecosystem Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

In this short resilience conversation, Dr. Graciela Pineyro shares what a forced lab shutdown taught her about prioritization, remote lab meetings, and running a research program across closed borders. << Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Graciela Pineyro: Resilience, Lab Life, and the Zoom Effect Research doesn't pause neatly. In March 2020, Dr. Graciela Pineyro — a principal investigator at CHU Sainte-Justine in Montreal studying GPCR signaling — watched her lab close from one day to the next. This short resilience conversation, part of a Dr. GPCR Podcast series capturing the realities of scientific life, returns to Dr. Pineyro several months into the shutdown to hear what she learned. The discussion moves across three overlapping questions: how a forced pause reshapes scientific prioritization, how remote lab meetings alter who speaks up and why, and what it costs a scientist personally to keep a lab running across a closed international border. For Dr. Pineyro, whose husband remained in Uruguay for the duration of the shutdown, the scientific work and the human cost were never separate conversations. What emerges is a quiet argument that the structural shifts the pandemic forced — project planning in self-contained blocks, flatter meeting dynamics, planned reflection time — may deserve to survive the return to the bench. About the Guest Dr. Graciela Pineyro is a principal investigator at CHU Sainte-Justine in Montreal, where her research group works on GPCR signaling. She is a returning guest of the Dr. GPCR Podcast; her earlier episode covers her scientific profile in depth, including her research trajectory, laboratory focus, and contributions to the field. This resilience conversation captures her voice not as a researcher presenting results, but as a PI speaking candidly about how her program is navigating a moment no one planned for. Scientific Themes of the Conversation Forced pause as a prioritization tool — How closure reveals what a lab would otherwise never stop to question. The democratizing effect of remote meetings — Why some lab members speak more freely from home than they ever did in person. Experimental planning under uncertainty — Structuring projects into self-contained blocks so a lab can survive iterative shutdowns. The personal geography of modern science — What it costs a scientist when the research program and the family are in different countries. Civic responsibility in returning to the bench — Deconfining a research center slowly, with planning for possible return to closure. Key Insights from the Conversation The pause was never just a pause. Dr. Pineyro frames the shutdown not as lost time but as a rare moment of recul — the French word for a step back that allows for perspective. She talks about finally being able to ask which projects deserved to be finished first, second, third. The question was always there; the pause was what forced it to be answered. Zoom did not flatten the lab. It flattened the hierarchy of who gets heard. The most striking observation in the conversation: lab members who rarely spoke up during in-person meetings began contributing more on Zoom. Dr. Pineyro notes she isn't sure why — something about speaking from home, something about reduced interpersonal threat. But the finding is sharp enough to take seriously when in-person dynamics return. Planning in blocks is a form of resilience. The lab restructured projects into discrete, self-contained units — each one designed so that if the research center closed again, the team would still have something to analyze, something to write. This is operational wisdom that long outlives the pandemic. The personal cost doesn't stay outside the lab. Dr. Pineyro speaks openly about her husband being stuck in Uruguay since March, missing their planned reunion, hoping for Christmas. She does not separate this from the scientific conversation — and the listener shouldn't either. Running a lab during the pandemic was rarely just a scientific problem. Returning to the bench is a decision, not a default. The research center was deconfining at 20% capacity the week of the recording. Dr. Pineyro frames reopening as something her team is taking "civically with responsibility and a grain of salt" — acknowledging that back-and-forth closures may be the new baseline. That framing, made months before it became the standard narrative, is worth noticing. Some pandemic-era practices deserve to survive. The implicit argument threaded through the whole conversation: the structural shifts forced by the shutdown — planned reflection, remote meeting inclusion, block-based project design — may be worth keeping. Not because the pandemic was good for science, but because normal lab life had quietly suppressed some of the things the pause made visible. Episode Timeline Timestamps were generated using AI for readability. 00:00 Introduction and 2020 Summit announcement 01:45 Welcoming a returning guest 02:02 How COVID reshaped the lab and the personal cost 03:30 Using forced pause for prioritization 04:10 Planning experiments in self-contained blocks 04:47 The Zoom effect — quieter voices speaking up 05:49 Closing reflections 06:01 Outro Selected Quotes "One day we were doing experiments, and the next we had to close. We have to go back now and start from scratch." "Zoom democratizes the world. People that usually do not speak so much in the lab meetings were speaking a little bit more through Zoom." "We are sort of thinking in advancing our projects in sort of blocks, closing some questions very tightly. So if we are sent back home, at least we have something to work on." "We are all prepared to take this civically with responsibility and also with a grain of salt, knowing that we might have to be going back and forth for a while before everything goes back to normal." About this episode: Dr. Graciela Pineyro is a professor of pharmacology at the department of pharmacology and physiology of the University of Montreal. She has done extensive work on the molecular pharmacology of opioid receptors and is currently focusing on the pharmacology of cannabinoids in the context of pain. We chatted about how the current pandemic has affected her personally and professionally. Dr. Graciela Pineyro on the web Dr. Graciela Pineyro on LinkedIn Dr. Graciela Pineyro - University of Montreal Dr. Graciela Pineyro - CHU Ste-Justine Research Centre Pineyro Lab Publications on Google Scholar Pineyro Lab on Pubmed Dr. GPCR Ecosystem Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

<< Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Dr. Christel Menet About Dr. Christel Menet "I did my Ph.D. in Manchester UK with Prof Jonathan Clayden in organic chemistry. I then started my career at Evotec before moving to Domain Therapeutics (called Faust pharmaceutical at the time). After 2 years, I joined Galapagos where I spent almost 11 years and became head of medicinal chemistry. 6 years ago I decided to take on a new challenge by taking the position of CSO at Confo Therapeutics . I was the 6th employee and today we are more than 60 :) I have fun every day, and I love working with GPCRs. they are such great targets." Dr. Christel Menet on the web Hyphen Projects GPCRS Drug Discovery Confo Therapeutics LinkedIn Dr. GPCR Ecosystem Upcoming Live Expert Sessions ➚ 🔒Explore the Full Masterclass ➚ Unlock the Full Dr. GPCR Learning Ecosystem ✔ Full Masterclass library ✔ Terry's Pharmacology Corner ✔ Advanced GPCR courses ✔ Scientific discussions → Become Premium Enjoying the Dr. GPCR Podcast? Leave a Review. Leave a quick review to help more scientists find the show—and help us keep improving every episode. It takes <60 seconds and makes a big difference. ★ Review on Apple Podcasts ★ Rate on Spotify ✉️ Send feedback to the team Thanks for listening to this podcast episode Follow us on your favorite Podcast Player << Previous Podcast Episode Next Podcast Episode >>

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