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<< Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Dr. Mark Connor About Dr. Mark Connor Undergraduate BSc with Honours in Pharmacology from University of Sydney (1987, snake neurotoxins), Ph.D. from Department of Pharmacology, University of Washington (1992, mentor Charley Chavkin , sigma receptors). Postdoc with Graeme Henderson (Bristol, opioids and Ca signaling) and Mac Christie (Sydney, opioids in neurons, novel spider toxins). Grant-funded independent research positions from 2001 at University of Sydney (opioids and sensory neurons), Vollum Institute Portland (visiting scientist with Ed McCleskey, sensory neuron properties); Pain Management Research Institute (more opioids, cannabinoids and T-type Ca channels) and Brain and Mind Research Institute (Sydney). 2009, appointed Professor of Pharmacology at Macquarie University. Focus on study of drugs and toxins on GPCR (opioid, cannabinoid receptor) and ion channel (K, Ca, TRP channel) function; mostly electrophysiology and fluorescence-based reporters, but can grind and bind. Currently pursuing molecular pharmacology of phytocannabinoids and novel synthetic cannabinoids, with a focus on efficacy and novel targets. Interested in orthosteric and allosteric interactions, and still looking for some bias ... anywhere ... these days human only. Dr. Mark Connor on the web Researchers Twitter Google Scholar 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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. Kevin Pfleger About this episode Dr. Pfleger trained as a pharmacologist and obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Edinburgh. I sat down with Kevin to chat about GPCRs, pharmacology, and his contributions to the field in both the academic and biotech worlds. Professor Pfleger has developed extensive expertise in profiling receptor binding and function at the molecular and cellular levels over the last 20 years, particularly involving GPCRs. He also has globally-recognized expertise in bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) technology, including his patented Receptor-Heteromer Investigation Technology (Receptor-HIT) for studying heteromers. Kevin is also Director, Biomedical Innovation at The University of Western Australia (UWA) and the MTPConnect Western Australian Life Sciences Innovation Hub. He is Head of Molecular Endocrinology and Pharmacology at the UWA Centre for Medical Research and Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Deputy Director of the Australian Research Council Centre for Personalised Therapeutics Technologies, Chief Scientific Advisor to Dimerix, and co-founder of RAGE Biotech . He currently serves on the Board of the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists and is a member of the British Pharmacological Society International Advisory Group. Join me and learn more about Kevin’s work and how he manages all his responsibilities. Dr. Kevin Pfleger on the web LinkedIn ResearchGate Pubmed Google Scholar University of Western Australia Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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) Irfan Dhanidina, Dr. Kathleen Caron and Dr. Lauren Slosky About Irfan Dhanidina "My interest in oncology research led me to pursue a BSc in Biology & Economics from Carleton University, and an MSc in Biotechnology at McGill. However, after insightful experiences in academic, hospital, and industry labs, I decided to pursue a role in business development. In my role at Orion Biotechnology, I work at the intersection of science and business, which includes target selection, preclinical strategy and business development. With respect to GPCRs, I'm particularly interested in peptide/small protein receptors and the mechanisms that facilitate their role in various indications. To that end, I'm grateful to be working alongside the very talented team at Orion who translate important GPCR research into novel therapies for patients. " Irfan Dhanidina on the web LinkedIn The Org DIBIZ Dr. GPCR About Dr. Kathleen Caron " "Kathleen M. Caron, Ph.D. is the Frederik L. Eldridge Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Cell Biology & Physiology at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill—a large, interdisciplinary basic science department consistently ranked in the Top 5 in the Nation in NIH funding. Dr. Caron received a BS in Biology and BA in Philosophy at Emory University and a PhD at Duke University while training with Dr. Keith Parker to elucidate the role of steroidogenesis in regulating sexual determination and adrenal and gonadal development using genetic mouse models. She pursued postdoctoral training with Nobel Laureate Dr. Oliver Smithies at UNC-CH, where she was the first to discover the essential role of adrenomedullin peptide for embryonic survival. With a special emphasis on G protein coupled receptors and receptor activity modifying proteins in vascular biology, the Caron laboratory has gained valuable insights into the genetic basis and pathophysiology of lymphatic vascular disease, preeclampsia and sex-dependent cardiovascular disease. Dr. Caron has received numerous awards including a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award in the Biomedical Sciences, an Established Investigator Award and an Innovator Award from the American Heart Association, a Jefferson Pilot Award in Biomedical Sciences and a UNC-CH Mentoring Award. She currently serves as Associate Editor of Physiological Reviews; the #1 ranked journal in Physiology (IF 46.5). Dr. Caron is also past Associate Editor at JCI and served as the inaugural Associate Editor at ACS-Pharmacology and Translational Science. Dr. Caron currently holds multiple scientific advisory roles in academia, industry and the National Institutes of Health." " Dr. Kathleen Caron on the web UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Cell Biology and Physiology UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Twitter Google Scholar ORCID ResearchGate Dr. GPCR About Dr. Lauren Slosky "Lauren Slosky is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and a member of the Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, a multidisciplinary initiative within the University of Minnesota’s Medical School to advance research and treatment in the field of drug addiction. Dr. Slosky’s research is focused on understanding how neuropeptide G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) regulate motivated behavior and how these receptors can be targeted for therapeutic benefit. Dr. Slosky was awarded a B.S. with honors in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Psychology from The University of Arizona in 2011. She received a Ph.D. in Medical Pharmacology from The University of Arizona in 2015 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Marc G. Caron at Duke University. Dr. Slosky opened her laboratory at the University of Minnesota Medical School in 2021. While a postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Slosky characterized a new class of β-arrestin biased allosteric modulators (BAMs) for the neurotensin receptor 1. These ligands stimulate receptor β-arrestin recruitment without activating canonical G protein signaling. Critically, these ligands reduce addiction-associated behaviors in animal models without the side effects characteristic of balanced receptor activation. Because BAMs engage less well-conserved allosteric sites and exert pathway-specific effects on receptor signaling, they are exciting tools for linking distinct signaling pathways with their physiological effects and may serve as the basis for more selective therapeutics. This work was made possible by the optimization of longitudinal intravenous self-administration paradigms for genetically modified mice. Integrating GPCR biology, behavioral pharmacology, and systems neuroscience approaches, the Slosky Lab is now working to understand how the principles of receptor allosterism and functional selectivity can be leveraged in the development of safe and effective treatments for stimulant and opioid use disorders. Dr. Slosky’s work has been recognized through several travel and research awards, including the William James Psychology Award, the Hank Yamamura Endowed Fellowship in Pharmacology, an NIH F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship, and an NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award. In addition to research, Dr. Slosky is passionate about training the next generation of scientists and increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in science. An advocate for trainees at all levels, she served as Service Chairperson and Interim President of the Duke University Postdoctoral Association. She is currently a faculty trainer for the University of Minnesota's MS and Ph.D. programs in Pharmacology, Graduate Program in Neuroscience, and Life Sciences Summer Undergraduate Research Program and is working to build relationships with key stakeholders through institutional and community service." Dr. Lauren Slosky on the web University of Minnesota Department Page Twitter LinkedIn Google Scholar PubMed Research Gate 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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 Joseph Kim’s curiosity for science led him into GPCR research, drug discovery, and membrane protein biology—plus practical insights on building a scientific career. << Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Dr. Anita Nivedha: Computational Dynamics of Ligand Bias in GPCR Signaling Scientific Abstract G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) transmit extracellular signals through conformational changes that propagate from ligand-binding sites to intracellular signaling partners. Understanding how ligand binding leads to specific signaling outcomes—particularly ligand bias toward G protein or β-arrestin pathways—remains a major challenge in GPCR pharmacology and drug discovery. In this conversation, Dr. Anita Nivedha discusses computational approaches to decoding signal propagation within GPCR structures. Using molecular dynamics simulations combined with network analysis of residue communication pathways, Dr. Nivedha describes how allosteric signaling within receptors can be quantified at atomic resolution. During her postdoctoral work, she developed a computational framework that maps communication pathways from ligand-binding pockets to intracellular effector interfaces, enabling prediction of ligand bias directly from structural simulations. The discussion explores how microscopic structural communication within receptors correlates with experimentally observed signaling outcomes, providing a bridge between structural biology and pharmacology. Dr. Nivedha also reflects on broader implications for receptor subtype selectivity, peptide receptor pharmacology, and the evolving role of computational pharmacology in modern drug discovery. Together, these perspectives illustrate how simulations can move beyond visualization to become quantitative tools for understanding receptor activation and guiding GPCR-targeted therapeutics. About the Guest Dr. Nivedha is a computational biologist specializing in molecular simulations and computational pharmacology. Her work focuses on understanding how ligand binding propagates structural signals through GPCRs using molecular dynamics simulations and network-based analysis of residue communication pathways. During her postdoctoral research, Dr. Nivedha developed computational approaches to quantify ligand bias by analyzing communication routes between extracellular ligand-binding sites and intracellular signaling interfaces. Her work has also explored receptor subtype selectivity and peptide-binding GPCRs, connecting structural dynamics to pharmacological outcomes relevant for drug discovery. Scientific Themes of the Conversation Allosteric communication networks within GPCR structures Computational quantification of ligand bias Molecular dynamics simulations of receptor activation Structural determinants of GPCR subtype selectivity Integrating computational pharmacology with experimental GPCR biology Translating structural dynamics into drug discovery insights Key Insights from the Conversation Computational Pathways Can Reveal Ligand Bias Dr. Nivedha describes how communication pathways inside GPCR structures can be mapped using molecular dynamics simulations. By counting signaling routes connecting ligand-binding sites to intracellular interfaces, simulations can reproduce experimentally measured ligand bias. Allosteric Communication Explains Signal Propagation Ligand binding does not directly trigger signaling. Instead, information travels through networks of interacting amino acids across the receptor structure, forming allosteric communication pathways that connect extracellular ligand binding to intracellular signaling outcomes. Simulations Provide Dynamic Views of Receptor Function Static structures capture only one moment in receptor activation. Molecular dynamics simulations allow researchers to observe proteins in motion and analyze conformational transitions that drive receptor signaling. Structural Communication Reveals Functional Residues Mapping communication networks identifies key residues involved in signal propagation. These residues may represent potential targets for allosteric modulators that reshape receptor signaling pathways. Computational Methods Complement Experimental Pharmacology Experimental assays measure pathway activation, but they do not directly reveal the structural mechanisms underlying signaling bias. Computational approaches provide a mechanistic bridge between receptor structure and pharmacological output. Subtype Selectivity Emerges from Subtle Structural Differences Even closely related receptor subtypes can display different ligand affinities. Structural simulations can reveal how binding pocket geometry and receptor dynamics contribute to subtype selectivity. Scientific Careers Often Evolve Unexpectedly Dr. Nivedha reflects on how her career in GPCR biology began unexpectedly during her postdoctoral work. What started as a general interest in protein dynamics evolved into a deep engagement with the GPCR field. Episode Timeline 00:00 — Introduction: From ligand binding to receptor signaling Overview of ligand bias and the challenge of tracing signal propagation within GPCR structures. 02:00 — Scientific background of Dr. Nivedha Bioinformatics training, computational chemistry, and early research in carbohydrate–protein interactions. 07:30 — First encounters with GPCR structural biology Transition from studying general protein dynamics to the complexities of GPCR signaling. 16:45 — Studying allosteric communication in GPCRs Introduction to computational tools for mapping communication pathways inside proteins. 18:30 — Quantifying ligand bias using molecular simulations Development of a computational framework linking communication pathways to signaling outcomes. 20:00 — Applications to subtype selectivity and receptor pharmacology Using structural communication analysis to explain differences in ligand affinity across receptor subtypes. 26:00 — Academic–industry collaborations in GPCR drug discovery Insights from collaborative research with pharmaceutical partners. 46:00 — Scientific turning points and career insights Key moments that shaped Dr. Nivedha’s research direction. 52:00 — Reflections on GPCR research and future directions Perspectives on the diversity and continuing importance of GPCR biology. Selected Quotes “Communication pathways connect the ligand-binding site to the intracellular signaling interface, and those pathways are made of residues along the way.” “By counting the number of communication pathways toward G proteins versus arrestins, we began to see correlations with experimental ligand bias.” “Molecular dynamics simulations allow us to simulate proteins in motion and understand the conformational changes that drive receptor activation.” “Simulations stopped being just visualizations—they became measurements that could inform predictions for drug discovery.” Full Transcript (Formatted for readability) Introduction Yamina Berchiche: Hello listeners, Yamina here. Welcome to the Dr. GPCR podcast. If you’ve ever wanted to measure ligand bias, you’ve probably looked at the activation of different signaling pathways. But how does the binding of a ligand at the extracellular pocket of a receptor redirect residues within the receptor to activate signaling? That remains difficult to trace today. My guest today is Dr. Anita Nivedha, a computational biologist studying allosteric communication in GPCRs. She uses molecular dynamics and network analysis to map signaling pathways through receptors. During her postdoctoral work on GPCR structure and function, one problem stood out: can simulations quantify ligand bias inside receptor structures? One evening running analyses alone in the lab, a pattern appeared. Communication routes toward G proteins differed from those toward arrestins. When she counted those pathways, the numbers tracked experimental bias. A computational framework for predicting ligand bias began to emerge. Those calculations linked microscopic communication within the receptor to macroscopic signaling outcomes. Suddenly, simulations were not just visualizations anymore—they were measurements. And measurement meant predictions for drug discovery. Before we dive into this episode, I invite you to check out the relevant links in the show notes. And now, let’s dive into this conversation with Dr. Nivedha. Guest Introduction Yamina Berchiche: Hello everyone, this is Yamina from Dr. GPCR. And I’m very excited today because this has been a long time in the works to have with me Dr. Anita Nivedha. Dr. Nivedha: Thank you so much for having me. I’m really excited for our conversation today. Yamina Berchiche: Let’s start at the beginning. Could you introduce yourself and tell our audience who you are and what you do? Dr. Nivedha: Absolutely. My name is Anita. I’m currently a senior scientist at a biotech in Toronto, Canada. Previously I worked at another company in Montreal offering computer-aided drug discovery services. Before that I was doing my postdoc in California in the lab of Dr. Nagarajan Vaidehi at City of Hope. That’s where I first got introduced to GPCRs. My PhD was in Georgia in the lab of Dr. Robert Woods, where I worked on carbohydrate ligands and docking scoring functions. My undergraduate degree was in bioinformatics in India, which is where my interest in computational approaches to biology started. Yamina Berchiche: Wonderful. And we did have Dr. Nagarajan on the podcast and I love chatting with her. She’s wonderful. Dr. Nivedha: Yeah, I actually listened to that podcast. I was very excited to see her on your podcast. Yamina Berchiche: She is wonderful. Thank you so much for that introduction. I have to ask—how did you get interested in science in general? Dr. Nivedha: Science was something I was interested in since middle school. I was always interested in biology, especially studying anatomy. At one point I was interested in becoming a medical doctor when I was younger. But as I grew up and learned more about biotechnology and the possibilities that existed, my interests diversified. Around high school I was introduced to programming. I started learning C and C++ programming and I really loved it. When it came time to choose my major for undergrad, I wanted something that combined both biology and computers. I didn’t even know such a field existed. But when I came across bioinformatics, I thought, “This is it.” It combined both things I liked. So my interest in science and computers kind of merged there, and that’s what I still do today. Women in Computational Science Yamina Berchiche: I love it. And I think other than you and Dr. Vaidehi, I don’t remember ever having female computational scientists on the podcast. And today is International Women’s Day, so we’re revealing when this podcast is being recorded. I was wondering if you could speak to your experience being a computational scientist. What’s the ratio of female versus male computational scientists in your experience? Dr. Nivedha: That’s a good question. When you mentioned that only a few female computational scientists have been on the podcast, I’m surprised—but also not surprised. During my PhD there was a better balance of men and women, although the lab was not purely computational. But since then, I’ve often been outnumbered. When I joined Dr. Vaidehi’s lab, I was the only woman apart from her initially. Later more women joined the group. But overall, I would say women are still underrepresented in computational fields. Discovering GPCRs Yamina Berchiche: You mentioned that you joined Dr. Vaidehi’s lab and that’s when you were first exposed to GPCRs. Do you remember the first time you looked at a GPCR on a computer? Was it just another protein target, or did you immediately feel it was something special? Dr. Nivedha: I’m trying to remember exactly when I first saw one. It was probably in VMD or another visualization tool we commonly use. At the time, I didn’t realize the full scope of GPCR biology. I didn’t yet appreciate how interesting and diverse they are, or how important they are as drug targets. Before that, my PhD focused on carbohydrate ligands interacting with proteins. So the proteins were more like partners for the glycans we studied. When I applied for postdocs, I was mostly interested in studying proteins in general—their structure, dynamics, and function. GPCRs were not specifically what I was looking for. But once I started working on them, I appreciated them more and more. Over time I realized how vast and exciting the field is. Postdoctoral Research Questions Yamina Berchiche: Let’s talk about your postdoc research. What were the main questions you were trying to answer? Dr. Nivedha: One of the main topics I worked on was allosteric communication in proteins. In GPCRs, a ligand binds at the extracellular side of the receptor. The result is activation of intracellular signaling partners like G proteins or β-arrestins. But how does the signal travel from the extracellular binding pocket to the intracellular interface? That transmission happens through communication pathways across the receptor structure. This is what we call allosteric communication. The lab had developed software to analyze these communication pathways. Using that framework, I worked on quantifying ligand bias computationally. We used molecular dynamics simulations and extracted communication pathways connecting the ligand binding site to intracellular interfaces. Then we compared pathways leading to G proteins versus β-arrestins. We applied this method to GPCR systems where experimental bias values were known. And interestingly, the computational results correlated with experimental measurements. That project became a collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim and eventually led to a publication. Applications to Receptor Selectivity Dr. Nivedha: After that, I extended this work to study subtype selectivity. Some GPCR families contain closely related subtypes. Ligands may bind one subtype strongly but another weakly. Using communication pathway analysis and simulations, we explored how structural differences between receptor subtypes influence ligand affinity. I also worked on collaborative projects involving peptide-binding receptors, including angiotensin receptors. Industry Collaboration Yamina Berchiche: Your work involved collaboration with industry. What did you learn from that experience? Dr. Nivedha: It was actually my first interaction with industry researchers. Our collaborator at Boehringer Ingelheim was also a computational scientist with deep GPCR knowledge. That made the collaboration really productive. They provided suggestions that were directly relevant to our work. It was a great learning experience. It also showed me how important GPCR research is in pharmaceutical development. Seeing how computational methods could be applied to real drug discovery questions was very motivating. That experience influenced my later decision to pursue industry roles. Career Reflections and Scientific Turning Points Yamina Berchiche: I’d love to hear about some “aha moments” in your career. Dr. Nivedha: One moment happened very early when I chose bioinformatics as my undergraduate major. I remember standing in a hall reading a pamphlet describing the program. When I saw that bioinformatics combined biology and computing, I knew immediately that this was what I wanted to do. Another moment came during my postdoc while working on the ligand bias project. One Friday evening I was alone in the lab running analyses. I decided to compare the number of communication pathways leading to G protein versus arrestin interfaces. When I saw that those numbers tracked experimentally observed ligand bias, I realized we might have discovered something important. That moment led to the development of the computational method we later published. Favorite GPCRs Yamina Berchiche: Do you have a favorite GPCR? Dr. Nivedha: That’s a difficult question. I don’t think I have one favorite receptor. It often depends on what I’m studying at the time. For example, I became fascinated with adhesion GPCRs when I learned about them. I also find olfactory receptors fascinating because of how challenging they are to study. And now that I work with peptide drug modalities, I’m interested in peptide-binding GPCRs. So I keep discovering new receptors that do interesting things. That’s one of the reasons the GPCR field is so exciting. Closing Reflections Yamina Berchiche: Last question—the toughest one. What should we title this episode? Dr. Nivedha: Maybe something about how working on GPCRs was a happy accident in my career. I didn’t originally plan to work on them, but they ended up shaping my scientific path. Yamina Berchiche: I love that idea. Episode Outro Yamina Berchiche: Thank you to Dr. Nivedha for this fantastic conversation. This discussion explored computation as a tool to decode receptor signaling—from simulations to drug discovery. It reminds us that dynamics often hold the real mechanism. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with a colleague. Subscribe to the Dr. GPCR podcast so you never miss a discussion. And remember: receptors don’t work alone—neither should you. 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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. Hannes Schihada About Dr. Hannes Schihada Following studies in Pharmacy in Regensburg, Germany, I joined the receptor pharmacology group of Martin Lohse at the Institute of Pharmacology & Toxicology in Würzburg, Germany, in 2015. My project involved the development of FRET/BRET -based GPCR conformational biosensors, which can be employed in high throughput ligand screening. After my Ph.D. defense in 2019, I moved with a DFG (German research council) PostDoc fellowship to Stockholm, Sweden, in order to focus my research on class Frizzled GPCR s in the lab of Gunnar Schulte at the Karolinska Institute. I spent 2 1/2 years in his lab and developed novel conformational sensors for these intriguing receptors, allowing us to better understand their mode of action. By the end of 2021, I moved back to Germany and joined the pharmaceutical chemistry group of Peter Kolb in Marburg. I was recently awarded a Marie Sklodowska Curie PostDoc Fellowship in order to investigate and find better ligands for the orphan class A GPCRs , GPR3 , GPR6 , and GPR12 . Dr. Hannes Schihada on the web Karolinska Institutet Twitter Adher´n Rise 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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. Kari Johnson About this episode Dr. Kari Johnson is currently an assistant professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. She is a neuropharmacologist with an interest in the long-term effects of alcohol abuse on neural circuits. Kari completed her Ph.D. in Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University before continuing her training as a postdoctoral fellow at the Vanderbilt Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. All through her career, the recurring theme in Kari’s work has been GPCRs and more specifically Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors. Join me and learn more about how Kari studies GPCRs in basal ganglia circuits following chronic alcohol exposure in mice. Dr. Kari Johnson on the web LinkedIn Google Scholar Research Gate USU 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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. Eric Trinquet discusses the science and story behind pH Sense, Revvity’s innovative GPCR internalization assay, and his journey in GPCR product R&D. << Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) From Rare Earth Probes to Internalization Assays: The pHSense Story with Dr. Eric Trinquet What does it take to design a breakthrough GPCR assay—from idea to industrial impact? In this special episode, Dr. Eric Trinquet shares the inside story behind the development of pH Sense, Revvity’s latest innovation for tracking GPCR internalization. With a career spanning two decades at the intersection of fluorescence chemistry, functional assays, and product development, Eric takes us through the highs, failures, and scientific “aha” moments that shaped tools like the IP-One kit, Tag-lite, and now, pH Sense. If you’ve ever used HTRF or wondered what goes into making a product worthy of your next experiment, this is your backstage pass. You’ll hear what truly makes a reagent successful—and why academic–industry collaborations are essential for advancing GPCR research. Inside This Episode How Eric and his team reimagined rare earth complexes to develop pH-sensitive probes with tunable brightness and lifetime. Why pH Sense enables high-throughput, no-wash tracking of GPCR internalization—even at endogenous expression levels. What shifted the team’s strategy from traditional calcium assays to IP1 accumulation—and why it mattered for Gq-coupled receptors. How collaborations with David Parker and Jean-Philippe Pin accelerated both probe chemistry and biological validation. What it felt like to see the first dose-response curves in native beta cells—and why that moment changed the trajectory of the project. Why the commercialization of a reagent is not the end, but the beginning of a feedback-driven innovation cycle. Why It Might Hit Home If you’ve ever: Wrestled with unreliable endpoint assays or cumbersome radioactive protocols, Pushed for more physiologically relevant systems and hit the “overexpression ceiling,” Balanced scientific rigor with the unpredictability of product development, Or felt the thrill of seeing a tool you built drive real biological insight… …this episode will resonate. About the Guest Dr. Eric Trinquet is Head of R&D for Life Sciences Reagents at Revvity, where he leads innovation in biochemical and cell-based assay platforms. With a foundational career at Cisbio Bioassays—later acquired by Revvity—Eric played a pivotal role in bringing technologies like HTRF, the IP-One kit, and the Tag-lite platform into widespread use. Originally trained as a physicist with a strong interest in photophysics and fluorescence chemistry, Eric transitioned into the GPCR field through hands-on assay development. His passion lies in turning cutting-edge probe chemistry into robust, scalable tools for drug discovery and basic research. What drives him? A mix of scientific curiosity, a tolerance for failure, and a commitment to delivering real-world impact—one product at a time. More about Revvity pHSense Reagents GPCR Reagents Revvity on Dr. GPCR Dr. GPCR X Revvity Collaboration Want more like this? Join the Dr. GPCR Premium Ecosystem for behind-the-scenes access to GPCR innovators, exclusive deep-dives, and practical tools to accelerate your research or career. 👥 Build connections. 🧪 Get insights. 🎧 Stay ahead. 👉 Join now 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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) Developing new tools to uncover GPCR signaling patterns with Remi Janicot About Remi Janicot I was born in Paris (France) and grew up in Europe until I was 18. After graduating high school, I moved to America to pursue my passion for basketball while continuing high level studies. I played collegiate basketball and earned my bachelor’s at Ursinus College, a small school around Philadelphia where I graduated from in 2018. After that, I worked at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore as a research assistant investigating mechanisms and treatments for pediatric epilepsy. With my background in neuroscience, the lab of Dr. Mikel Garcia-Marcos seemed like a good fit as GPCRs are integral to the functioning of the nervous system (and much more). My particular projects revolve around developing new tools to study GPCR activity in ways that were not previously possible. This research has led to a first-author Cell article on the development of a new biosensor platform called ONE-GO biosensors. Overall, the lab works on diverse models and diseases, and has developed a wide array of tools to dissect GPCR/G protein signaling which I would be happy to discuss. Remi Janicot on the web Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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. Kathryn E Livingston About Dr. Kathryn E Livingston Dr. Kathryn E Livingston is currently a Product Manager at Gator Bio , a biotechnology company providing solutions to researchers studying protein-protein interactions. Kathryn obtained her BS in Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University and went on to receive a Ph.D. in Pharmacology at the University of Michigan. Working under the supervision of Dr. John Traynor , Kathryn worked to develop and understand first-in-class allosteric modulators of opioid receptors. Research into their mechanism of action in purified systems formed the base of her thesis work. Following this, Kathryn did a post-doctoral fellowship at UCSF in the laboratory of Dr. Mark von Zastrow . There she researched the beta-2 adrenergic receptor and developed assays to investigate real-time activity in intact cellular systems. Kathryn’s passion is developing solutions to problems in whatever form is most efficient: novel instrumentation, novel methods, or novel communication. Dr. Kathryn E Livingston on the web LinkedIn ResearchGate Pubmed Google Scholar 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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. GPCR Board About Dr. Yamina Berchiche "Dr. Yamina A. Berchiche is the founder of Dr. GPCR, an ecosystem designed to bring together stakeholders interested in using G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) that control virtually everything in the body as drug targets. The mission of Dr. GPCR is to accelerate GPCR drug discovery by sharing the latest research and technology advances in the field and providing exposure to scientists through the Dr. GPCR podcast. Dr. Berchiche obtained her Master’s and Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of Montreal in Canada before training at Rockefeller University in New York and the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. She developed expertise over the past two decades studying structure/function relationships of GPCRs using live-cell bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET). Her work focused on chemokine receptors, members of the GPCR family that control cell movement in the body." Dr. Yamina Berchiche on the web Website LinkedIn Facebook Twitter ResearchGate PubMed Google Scholar Dr. GPCR About Dr. Maria Waldhoer "I am a pharmacologist with a ~30 years background in academia and industry, working both in big pharma and biotech settings. My experience in basic research at several universities worldwide and early R&D at Novo Nordisk A/S allowed me to shape a swiss start-up company from a scientifc idea to a thriving Biotech focusing on Systems Biology & AI to accelerate the quest for novel & safer drugs on GPCRs. After a well needed break from the grind, I am now a scientific/business consultant for clients both in Academia and in the Life sciences and Healthcare industry. I am a recent convert and strong advocate for integrating mindfulness and mental wellbeing into demanding work routines." Dr. Maria Waldhoer on the web LinkedIn T witter Pubmed Dr. GPCR About Dr. JoAnn Trejo "Dr. JoAnn Trejo earned her Ph.D. at UC San Diego. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at UC San Francisco under the guidance of Professor Shaun Coughlin where she worked on the newly discovered protease-activated GPCRs. Dr. Trejo joined the faculty in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of North Carolina in 2000 and then moved to UC San Diego School Medicine, Department of Pharmacology in 2008, where she quickly rose through the ranks to tenured professor in 2012. In 2014, she was appointed Vice-Chair of the Department of Pharmacology. The long-term goal of Dr. Trejo’s research program is to gain a thorough and mechanistic understanding of processes that control cell signaling by protease-activated receptors (PARs) and the impact on vascular inflammation and cancer progression. PARs are GPCRs that are activated through an atypical irreversible proteolytic mechanism. The precise control of PAR signaling is critical for proper temporal and spatial dynamics of signaling and appropriate cellular responses. Discovering new aspects of PAR signaling is important for increasing the fundamental knowledge of GPCR biology and for the identification of drug targets and future drug development. Dr. Trejo’s research has focused on PAR1, which has important functions in hemostasis, thrombosis, inflammation, and cancer and is an important drug target. She has made numerous important discoveries related to the mechanisms that control PAR1 signaling and closely related family members and published extensively on this topic. Dr. Trejo has been continuously funded by the NIH for >20 years and was a recipient of the prestigious American Heart Association Established Investigator Award. Her laboratory is the recognized expert on protease-activated receptors, particularly PAR1, and over the years she has discovered novel aspects of GPCR biology, acquired critical expertise, and rigorous approaches to examine PAR1 function using human cultured cells and mouse models. Dr. Trejo has presented her studies at 52 national/international meetings and 66 academic seminars across the U.S." Dr. JoAnn Trejo on the web UC San Diego Trejo Lab Wikipedia LinkedIn Google Scholar Orcid Twitter UC San Diego School of Medicine Researchgate Dr. GPCR About Anne Marie Quinn "Anne Marie Quinn has a long and varied work experience in the biocomputing and bioinformatics fields. From 1987 to 1994, they were the Director of Biocomputing at The Salk Institute, where they managed institute-wide network and biocomputing services, served on the Steering Committee of the San Diego Supercomputer Center, and provided consultation for genetic sequence analysis, molecular modeling and database searching. In 1994, they became a Bioinformatics Scientist at CuraGen Corporation. From 1995 to 2002, they worked at Yale University School of Medicine as the Bioinformatics Core Facility Manager, where they managed a technical support team providing scientific data analysis and database development services, contributed analytic support resulting in authorship of numerous scientific publications and new funding, and developed and co-taught a new course in bioinformatics for graduate students. From 2002 to 2006, they were a Senior Application Scientist at Accelrys, where they were the technical point of contact for customers assessing features of software products for drug discovery and genomic analysis, delivered technical presentations and software demonstrations to prospective customers worldwide, and developed web-based case notes, marketing seminars and product literature for scientific software. Finally, since 2006, they have been the Chief Executive Officer at Montana Molecular, LLC. Anne Marie Quinn attended Yale University from 1998 to 2000, where they earned a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in Biostatistics and Bioinformatics. Prior to that, they obtained a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from California State University, Long Beach in 1982." Anne Marie Quinn on the web Google Scholar The Org 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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. Debbie Hay About this episode Dr. Debbie Hay is presently a professor at the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Otago after spending 18 years at the University of Auckland. Her work is primarily focused on class B GPCRs and their interactions with RAMPs. Debbie obtained a Ph.D. in Molecular Pharmacology from Imperial College London in the UK. She has gained experience from working in academia and at GSK as an industrial trainee. Join me and learn more about Debbie’s career and what she learned through her experiences as a scientist. Dr. Debbie Hay on the web LinkedIn Wikipedia University of Otago University of Auckland Google Scholar Pubmed Research Gate 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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. Ralf Jockers About Dr. Ralf Jockers Ralf Jockers studied in Cologne and received a Ph.D. in biotechnology and biochemistry from the University of Braunschweig, Germany. For postdoctoral training, he joined the laboratory of Dr. Strosberg AD in France, where he worked on the regulation of ß-adrenergic receptors. He is the Research director at INSERM with a specific interest in G protein-coupled receptors by developing original BRET and TR-FRET assays. His laboratory is currently located at the Institute Cochin – Inserm (Paris, France). His laboratory was among the first to demonstrate the oligomerization of GPCRs. He showed the formation of melatonin receptor heteromers in vitro and in vivo and their importance in retinal physiology. He established the concept of ligand-independent functions of orphan receptors in heterodimers with other GPCRs. He discovered multiple rare and loss-of-function variants of the MT2 melatonin receptors that are associated with type 2 diabetes (TD2) development. Many MT2 variants are biased and their defects are signaling pathway-specific opening new perspectives for T2D treatment and precision medicine. His lab was among the first to discover mitochondrial functions of GPCRs. He was the director of the French network of GPCRs (GDR-3545), currently directs the International Research Network (IRN) i-GPCRnet of the CNRS, is chair of IUPHAR « Melatonin receptor » sub-committee, Editor-in-Chief of « Frontiers in Cellular Endocrinology » and AE of « J Pineal Research”. He is a highly cited researcher – 2019 and 2020 identified by Clarivate Web of Science ™. Dr. Ralf Jockers on the web Jockers Lab WGDR-3545 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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) Chloe Hicks About Chloe Hicks Chloe Hicks will graduate from Duke University this spring with a B.S degree in Biology with a concentration in Pharmacology. She has been an undergraduate student member in the Rajagopal Lab since January 2021 and has contributed to multiple projects exploring the underlying mechanisms of biased signaling at chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3). These previous endeavors involved exploring the effect of subcellular location on the signaling profile of CXCR3’s three endogenous biased ligands, elucidating the role of site-specific receptor phosphorylation in the differential signaling outputs of biased agonists, and demonstrating the ligand specificity behind GRK recruitment to endosomes upon receptor internalization. She is currently working on her senior thesis which involves identifying the non-canonical signaling effectors involved in the activation of Atypical Chemokine Receptor 3 (ACKR3), a receptor which does not couple to G protein and has been shown to maintain its activation in the absence of β-arrestin. Chloe Hicks on the web ORCID 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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. Terry Hebert explains why studying GPCRs in HEK293 cells misses critical biology — and how iPSC-derived models and intracellular receptor targeting are reshaping drug discover << Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Dr. Terry Hebert: How Cellular Background and Localization Influence GPCR Function Scientific Abstract Most of what we know about GPCR signaling was learned in HEK293 cells — a system that reveals what is possible but not necessarily what is happening. This conversation with Dr. Terry Hebert confronts that gap directly. Dr. Hebert's research focuses on the angiotensin AT1 receptor, a signaling hub coupled to Gq, Gi, G12, and beta-arrestin simultaneously — far exceeding the simple binary framework that guided a biased agonist into a failed clinical trial. His lab develops BRET- and FRET-based biosensors that produce different conformational outputs depending on the cell type, and is now deploying them in iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes and patient-specific stem cell models. The discussion also explores GPCRs beyond the cell surface — including caged ligands designed to drug receptors on the nuclear membrane, and the unexpected discovery that G-proteins may act as transcriptional regulators. For Dr. Hebert, three decades in the wrong cellular background was reason enough to start over. About the Guest Dr. Terry Hebert is a Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at McGill University. His research centers on GPCR signaling networks, biosensor development, and the role of cellular context in receptor pharmacology. Trained in microbiology and ion channel biology at the University of Toronto, he transitioned to GPCRs during his postdoctoral work with Michel Bouvier. His lab develops resonance energy transfer-based biosensors and applies them in induced pluripotent stem cells to study receptor function in physiologically relevant settings. His contributions span GPCR dimerization, nuclear receptor signaling, and the emerging role of G-proteins as transcriptional regulators. Scientific Themes of the Conversation Cellular Context as the Missing Variable — Why receptor pharmacology measured in HEK293 cells may not reflect what happens in native tissues, and how biosensors reveal cell-type-dependent signaling outputs. Beyond the Gq/Beta-Arrestin Dichotomy — The AT1 receptor couples to Gq, Gi, G12, and beta-arrestin simultaneously, and the clinical failure of a biased agonist exposed the cost of oversimplifying that signaling landscape. iPSC-Derived Models for GPCR Drug Discovery — Using induced pluripotent stem cells differentiated into cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, and patient-specific cell types to study receptor signaling in disease-relevant backgrounds. Intracellular GPCRs as Drug Targets — Receptors on the nuclear and mitochondrial membranes represent an untapped pharmacological frontier, and caged ligands offer a route to drugging them selectively. G-Proteins as Transcriptional Regulators — The observation that G-proteins enter the nucleus and interact with transcriptional machinery, suggesting functions entirely distinct from canonical cell-surface signaling. Navigating Serendipity and Risk in Discovery — From the accidental observation of GPCR dimers to negative controls gone wrong, the role of openness to unexpected results in shaping a research program. Key Insights from the Conversation 1. HEK Cells Show What's Possible, Not What's Happening Dr. Hebert's biosensors produce different conformational outputs when expressed in HEK293 cells versus vascular smooth muscle cells, even when challenged with the same ligand. The implication is that cellular context fundamentally shapes receptor behavior — and most of the field's pharmacological maps were drawn in the wrong terrain. 2. The AT1 Receptor Defies Simple Classification The angiotensin AT1 receptor is not just a Gq-coupled receptor with a beta-arrestin side story. It couples to Gi, G12, and likely additional pathways. Dr. Hebert describes it as an interaction hub wired into networks whose full scope remains unknown — a receptor whose complexity scales with every new cell type examined. 3. A Clinical Trial Failure That Pointed Forward The Trevena biased agonist for the AT1 receptor failed in clinical trials, meeting none of its primary endpoints. Dr. Hebert argues this was not a failure of the concept but of incomplete pharmacological characterization — the ligand activated more pathways than assumed. He views it as a starting point, not an ending. 4. Knocking Out G-Proteins Reveals Cellular Rewiring When individual G-proteins are knocked out in HEK293 cells, the cells rewire their signaling networks to compensate. This means the knockout cell is intrinsically different from the wild-type — complicating any conclusions drawn from loss-of-function experiments in immortalized lines. 5. Patient-Derived iPSCs Open the Door to Personalized GPCR Pharmacology Dr. Hebert's lab is transitioning to iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts, including cells from patients with cardiomyopathies. The goal is to test therapeutic strategies targeting the AT1R, alpha-adrenergic, and beta-adrenergic systems in individual patient contexts before clinical intervention. 6. Drugging GPCRs on the Nuclear Membrane GPCRs are not confined to the cell surface. Dr. Hebert's lab developed caged ligands that cross the plasma membrane and are uncaged intracellularly, enabling selective activation of receptors on the nuclear membrane — a moment he describes as one of the most exciting in his career. 7. Discovery Requires Being Open to Being Wrong Dr. Hebert's advice to young scientists: embrace the complexity that intimidates your mentors. His own career was shaped by serendipitous observations — GPCR dimers that no one expected, negative controls that turned out to be discoveries. The pattern is consistent: the most important findings came from results that initially looked like mistakes. Episode Timeline Timestamps were generated using AI for readability. 00:00 Introduction 01:49 From microbiology to membrane proteins — Dr. Hebert's path to GPCRs 03:26 The angiotensin AT1 receptor — a favorite and a mystery 05:05 Why the Gq/beta-arrestin dichotomy broke down — the Trevena trial and its aftermath 07:15 Cellular context as the elephant in the room — biosensors revealing cell-type-dependent outputs 10:54 Building the toolkit — biosensors, iPSC-derived models, and patient-specific cells 18:44 Industry partnerships and the path from bench to pharma engagement 22:44 Intracellular GPCRs — drugging receptors on the nuclear membrane 26:21 Advice to young scientists — the unexpected result that redirected the project 27:49 Three aha moments that reshaped a career: dimers, nuclear GPCRs, and G-proteins as transcriptional regulators Selected Quotes "A HEK cell really kind of shows what's possible, but it doesn't really show what's happening." — Dr. Terry Hebert "I think what we don't know is how much we don't know." — Dr. Terry Hebert "You have to be open to discovery by being open to kind of being wrong." — Dr. Terry Hebert "The things that they originally came into place for get sampled for many other functions. And some of those functions get conserved and some get further modified to serve completely different roles than what we're used to thinking." — Dr. Terry Hebert About this episode Dr. Terry Hébert wanted to be a microbiologist. Instead, he ended up getting interested in membrane protein as he followed the biology of a bacterial toxin that affects a mammalian ion channel. Today he and his team are working on understanding receptor signaling in specialized cellular environments to gain a better grasp of receptor function in pathophysiological settings with a special interest in the cardiovascular system. His favorite GPCR is the angiotensin 1 receptor, especially for its ability to activate a large variety of signaling pathways. Terry is also very active on social media. With over 2000 followers on Facebook and Twitter, he shares the latest available information on GPCR research daily. Dr. Terry Hébert on the web Institute of Health Sciences Education Hébert Lab LinkedIn Facebook GPCR Consortium 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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) Gáspár Pándy-Szekeres About Gáspár Pándy-Szekeres " After a BSc in biology and a MSc in bioinformatics, I have been working in David Gloriam's group as a bioinformatician. My initial focus was on creating an automated chimeric homology modeling pipeline for GPCRs and since have branched out to multiple areas of GPCR research such as sequence alignments, generic numbering systems, structure data, G protein and arrestin coupling and more. As a developer, and more recently the lead developer of GPCRdb my day-to-day work centers around the maintenance and resource/tool development of GPCRdb and its sister databases. I am also affiliated with György Keserű's group at the RCNS in Hungary. I lived in Denmark, Poland, now I live in Hungary. I am married, I have two daughters. In my free time I like to play the guitar, sing and play board games. " Gáspár Pándy-Szekeres on the web LinkedIn University of Copenhagen ResearchGate 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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. Evi Kostenis About Dr. Evi Kostenis "Pharmacist by training - PhD in Pharmacology - Postdoc at the NIH with Dr. Juergen Wess - Postdoc and Group leader in Aventis, now Sanofi, Frankfurt, Germany - Head of in vitro Pharmacology at 7TM Pharma in Denmark; Full professor, department chair and director of the institute for pharmaceutical Biology at the University of Bonn. Research interests: Signaling mechanisms involving GPCRs and heterotrimeric G proteins" Dr. Evi Kostenis on the web University of Bonn ResearchGate 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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. Rosie Dawaliby About Dr. Rosie Dawaliby "I’m an expert in early-stage drug discovery, targeting membrane proteins, especially GPCR. I have 10 years of experience in the development and management of R&D projects and teams in the field of pharmacology, in prestigious academic laboratories as well as in biopharmaceutical companies in Europe and the United States. I hold a Ph.D. in Life Sciences from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, Department of Biochemistry (2005-2009), where I started working on membranes and membrane protein biochemistry by studying membrane fusion and autophagy in yeast and mammalian cells. I have developed my expertise in the field of pharmacology and biochemistry of GPCR and the crucial role of the lipidic environment on their structure and function during my post-doctoral work (2010-2015). This joint project between prof. Brian Kobilka's lab at Stanford University and the SFMB laboratory at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) resulted in the first systematic study of phospholipid's effect on GPCR conformation and function. In 2016, I joined a company that specialized in therapeutic candidate discovery targeting GPCR ( Confo Therapeutics ) as a team and project leader for antibody discovery for metabolic and inflammatory diseases. I developed G.CLIPS biotech's innovative technology as a synthesis of the different knowledge, experiences, and know-how from the different stages of my career. Before founding G.CLIPS biotech in June 2020. And since then, my incredible adventure as CEO of this fast-growing company started and is continuing." Dr. Rosie Dawaliby on the web LinkedIn Dr. GPCR Ecosystem G.CLIPS Biotech on the web Website 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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. GPCR Team About Dr. Yamina Berchiche Dr. Yamina A. Berchiche is the founder of Dr. GPCR, an ecosystem designed to bring together stakeholders interested in using G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) that control virtually everything in the body as drug targets. The mission of Dr. GPCR is to accelerate GPCR drug discovery by sharing the latest research and technology advances in the field and providing exposure to scientists through the Dr. GPCR podcast. Dr. Berchiche obtained her Master’s and Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the University of Montreal in Canada before training at Rockefeller University in New York and the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. She developed expertise over the past two decades studying structure/function relationships of GPCRs using live-cell bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET). Her work focused on chemokine receptors, members of the GPCR family that control cell movement in the body. Dr. Yamina Berchiche on the web Website LinkedIn Facebook Twitter ResearchGate PubMed Google Scholar Dr. GPCR About Dr. Shivani Sachdev Dr. Sachdev is an early career researcher in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. Her research centers on developing nanobody-ligand conjugates to target GPCRs, with a focus on receptors relevant for treating osteoporosis, diabetes, and pain. She received her undergraduate degree in Biotechnology from KIIT University in India. She subsequently joined Professor Mark Connor's laboratory at Macquarie University in Australia. Dr. Sachdev pursued Ph.D. in the same lab where she investigated the molecular pharmacology of cannabinoid receptors. She is also very active within the pharmacology community and currently serves on the editorial board of the British Journal of Pharmacology. Given her expertise in GPCR pharmacology and scientific communication, she is poised to make valuable contributions to the field and expand our understanding of GPCR signaling. Dr. Shivani Sachdev on the web NIDDK ReseachGate Google Scholar LinkedIn Twitter Dr. GPCR About Dr. Inês Pinheiro PharmD by training and Ph.D. candidate in Hartley's lab at the University of Geneva. As a young researcher fascinated by chemokine receptors, molecular pharmacology, drug discovery, and immuno-oncology. Dr. Inês Pinheiro on the web LinkedIn University of Geneva Twitter Dr. GPCR About Dr. Monserrat Avila Zozaya I did a PhD in cell biology at CINVESTAV, Mexico. During that time, I investigated the effect of lung cancer-related mutations in the GAIN domain of the Latrophilin 3 receptor. My long-term interest is focused on understanding the mechanisms mediated by GPCRs at the cellular communication level. Dr. Monserrat Avila Zozaya on the web LinkedIn Antony Boucard Lab Dr. GPCR About John Azietaku John Teye Azietaku,PhD is a trained pharmacist, holding a Ph.D. in Drug Discovery Biology and Pharmacology from Monash University. Currently serving as a Post Doctoral research fellow at Monash University, John plays a pivotal role in the pharmacological screening of compounds for a commercial drug discovery program. With prior industry experience as a Clinical Research Associate at IQVIA and regulatory officer at the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) in Ghana, John has a proven track record of ensuring compliance with protocols and regulatory standards. Driven by a passion for advancing drug development, John is committed to leveraging his expertise to enhance healthcare outcomes and contribute to the growth of the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. John Azietaku on the web LinkedIn Dr. GPCR About Ya-Tzu Li Ya-Tzu is a Master's student at the University of South Florida, utilizing large-scale virtual drug screening to identify agonists and antagonists targeting Class A GPCRs. Since beginning her undergraduate studies, she has used computational methods like molecular dynamics simulations and free energy landscape analysis to understand the signaling pathways and activation mechanisms of the Dopamine D3 receptor and the CXCR4-CXCL12 complex. In August, Ya-Tzu will continue her academic and research pursuits by beginning her PhD training in Medical Science at USF, aiming to further contribute to the field of medical pharmacology. Ya-Tzu Li on the web LinkedIn Dr. GPCR About Cam Sinh Lu Cam Sinh Lu is a PhD student at Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, with a deep interest in understanding drug-receptor interactions. With an immense passion for molecular pharmacology, his research focuses on elucidating the molecular basis of membrane protein signalling using quantitative assays and molecular modelling. Further down the track, he aims to apply this knowledge to develop novel chemical treatments for neuronal and cardiovascular diseases. Cam Sinh Lu on the web 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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 >>

Chemical biologist Johannes Broichhagen reveals how fluorescent probes transform GPCR imaging, internalization studies, and assay development in live cells and tissues. << Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Chemical Probes for GPCR Imaging and Internalization with Dr. Johannes Broichhagen In this episode of The Dr. GPCR Podcast, chemical biologist Dr. Johannes Broichhagen shares how his lab builds next-generation fluorescent probes to visualize GPCRs with precision. From the early days of ion channel chemistry to pioneering peptide–fluorophore conjugates for the GLP-1 receptor, JB breaks down the strategic decisions that shaped these tools—and why reliable chemical probes are transforming GPCR drug discovery . He explains what chemical design can solve that antibodies can’t, how to validate functional assay systems, and why fluorescence-based assays paired with careful synthetic planning open doors for both high-resolution imaging and high-throughput screening . You will walk away with a deeper understanding of GPCR internalization, probe specificity, and the cross-disciplinary habits that make collaborations actually work. Why this matters How a chemist with zero biology training became a leader in GPCR probe design. Why peptide-based fluorescent ligands succeeded where antibodies repeatedly failed. What actually happened the moment JB and collaborators imaged an entire pancreatic islet in one shot. How parallel synthesis and side-by-side functional assays accelerate probe optimization and reduce false leads. Why targeting the pharmacologically relevant surface-exposed receptor pool changes the way scientists interpret GPCR trafficking. The moment when super-resolution imaging revealed nanoscale receptor domains that conventional tools completely missed. Who should listen If you’ve ever: Navigated a project where the biology refused to match the textbook mechanism. Balanced creativity in tool development with the pressure for reproducible, publication-grade data. Tried to build assays that behave in living cells—not just on paper. Collaborated across chemistry and biology and felt the translation gap firsthand… …this episode will resonate. About Johannes Broichhagen Dr. Johannes Broichhagen is a chemical biologist whose work sits at the intersection of organic synthesis, peptide chemistry, and advanced imaging. Born in 1984, he studied chemistry at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (2004–2010) and completed his doctorate at LMU Munich in 2014 . His postdoctoral training included research at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (2015–2016) and later at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg, where he served as both postdoc and departmental group leader (2017–2020). These years shaped his interest in ion channels, GPCR pharmacology, and the chemical strategies needed to probe complex biology. Since 2020, JB has led his research group at the Leibniz Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology (FMP) in Berlin, focusing on developing fluorescent chemical tools to visualize GPCRs and other cell-surface proteins with high specificity. His lab integrates synthetic chemistry, theoretical chemistry, cell biology, and imaging to understand receptor organization and dynamics across cells, tissues, and intact organisms. Curiosity, collaboration, and a love of translating chemical concepts into biological insight drive his scientific mission. Johannes Broichhagen on the Web LinkedIn Google Scholar Lab Website Leibniz Research Institute for Molecular Pharmacology (FMP) Profile 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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) Translating computational approaches to GPCR biologists with Dr. Riccardo Capelli About Dr. Riccardo Capelli Dr. Riccardo Capelli is an assistant professor in Applied Physics at the Department of Biosciences, University of Milan. He earned his PhD in Physics at the same university, focusing on in silico structural vaccinology and advancing free energy calculation techniques. He then held a postdoctoral position at Forschungszentrum Jülich (Germany), where he worked on calculating ligand binding kinetics using classical molecular dynamics. This was followed by a postdoctoral role at the Polytechnic University of Turin (Italy), where he developed coarse-grained models for self-assembling systems. Now in a tenure-track position, his research spans the development of computational methods such as structure-based models and enhanced sampling techniques, as well as their application to biomolecular systems, mainly on GPCRs activation and dynamics. Dr. Ricardo Capelli on the web Google Scholar ResearchGate Bysky App : @ riccardocapelli.bsky.social Twitter X : @ ric_capelli Computational Structural Biology 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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 >>

Explore GPCR lipid rafts, bitter taste receptor pharmacology, and data integration in this expert interview with Dr. Keyvan Sedaghat. << Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) How Lipid Rafts Organize GPCR Signaling This episode features Dr. Keyvan Sedaghat discussing how GPCR function is shaped by lipid raft compartmentalization, the expanding therapeutic landscape of bitter taste receptors, and the importance of data-driven resources. Dr. Sedaghat details the construction of an open-access GPCR-lipid raft database and reviews key findings from his research on D1 receptor desensitization and GRK isoform signaling. Listeners gain insights into how membrane microdomains modulate GPCR activity, the translational impact of taste receptors in cancer and metabolic diseases, and emerging high-throughput methods for functional assay development. The conversation underscores the ongoing need for rigorous experimental validation following computational predictions. For more on advanced topics in GPCR drug discovery and methods, browse additional episodes at Dr. GPCR Premium. Why This Matters How lipid raft microdomains selectively regulate GPCR signaling and internalization Why the localization of Gα subunits impacts antidepressant drug efficacy and diagnostic innovation What the functional diversity of bitter taste receptors means for novel therapeutic targets beyond sensory biology The moment when open-access GPCR data integration improves both research reproducibility and hypothesis generation How computational approaches and wet-lab validation complement each other in functional assay development Who Should Listen If you face complex GPCR questions at the bench or in translational research, this discussion will resonate. When you’re mapping receptor localization and need to understand the mechanistic role of microdomains If you’re expanding functional assays to capture non-canonical GPCR roles in disease When integrating computational predictions with real-world pharmacological readouts If you see the research value in collaborative, up-to-date GPCR data resources About Keyvan Sedaghat Keyvan Sedaghat began his scientific training with a pharmacy degree in Iran, then completed his graduate education in cellular and molecular medicine with a specialization in pharmacology at the University of Ottawa. There, under Professor Mario Tiberi, he focused on G protein-coupled receptors and D1 receptor regulation—work that sparked his ongoing engagement with receptor signaling and microdomain biology. Dr. Sedaghat has accumulated over two decades of teaching and research in pharmacology, contributing as a professor, senior lecturer, editorial board member, and scientific officer in both pharmaceutical and cosmetic sectors. His current efforts bridge teaching in Toronto and ongoing research, including the development of an online GPCR-lipid raft database and investigation of bitter taste receptors’ roles beyond sensory systems. He remains driven by a commitment to rigorous science, data accessibility, and advancing the mechanistic understanding of GPCR pharmacology. Guest on the Web LinkedIn 7TMR-RAFT database 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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. Bruno Giros About Dr. Bruno Giros Dr. Giros' lab investigates how molecular changes at the nerve synapse might impact integrated behavior and what we might learn from these mechanisms to cure mental illness. After doctoral training at the Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris and a short internship at Genentech Inc. in South San Francisco, he joined the CNRS as a Research Fellow in 1987 in the INSERM Laboratory directed by Jean-Charles Schwartz in Paris, where he cloned and characterized dopamine D2 and D3 receptor subtypes. From 91 to 94, he was an assistant professor at Duke University in North Carolina, working with Marc Caron and Robert Lefkowitz (2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry) to characterize several neurotransmitter transporters and kinases and establish the first knock-out for these genes. In 1999, in France, Dr. Giros created the INSERM/CNRS laboratory on the "Neurobiology of Psychiatric Disorders," first in Créteil with Marion Leboyer, then at the University of Paris-Sorbonne with Hervé Chneiweiss. Since 2008, he has arrived at McGill University as a Canada Research Chair. At McGill, his laboratory has two main axes of research: 1) Studying interindividual vulnerability to chronic stress and depression and; 2) Understanding the role of phenotypically defined subpopulations of striatal neurons in motor and cognitive functions. Bruno Giros has trained 59 master's, doctoral and postdoc students, most of his trainees obtain positions in the academic or private sectors or are currently pursuing postdoctoral research training or have entered medical studies. Dr. Giros has published more than 200 publications with an H factor of 79 and 32,000 citations (Google Scholar) and has received several distinctions, including the CNRS silver medal, the FRM "Young Researcher" prize, the ISI “Highly Cited” and F-1000 in Pharmacology, and recently received the Heinz Lehmann Award from the Canadian College of NeuroPsychopharmacology and the distinguished James B. McGill Professor Award. Dr. Bruno Giros on the web Dougles Research Center LinkedIn Google Scholar Researchgate 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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. Paul J. Gasser About Dr. Paul J. Gasser " I received my BS and MS in Zoology & Physiology at the University of Wyoming, where I studied signaling processes involved in light-induced regulation of melatonin synthesis in the rainbow trout pineal organ, a directly photosensitive endocrine organ. I received my PhD in Biology at Arizona State University, where I worked in the lab of Miles Orchinik, studying cellular mechanisms underlying non-genomic actions of corticosteroid hormones. My postdoctoral work, conducted at the University of Bristol, UK, in Christopher Lowry's lab, examined the role of organic cation transporter 3 (OCT3) in the regulation of monoamine signaling in the brain. I joined the faculty of Biomedical Sciences at Marquette in 2007. I teach undergraduate Biochemistry and a variety of graduate neuroscience courses. Research in my lab is currently focused on understanding the signal transduction pathways activated by beta-adrenergic receptors localized to the inner nuclear membrane and their role in the regulation of gene expression." Dr. Paul J. Gasser on the web Gasser Lab Marquette University 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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. Michelle Halls reveals how organized GPCR signaling drives assay innovation and new therapeutic insights. << Back to podcast list Strategic Partner(s) Leadership, Impact, and GPCR Signaling with Dr. Michelle Halls In this episode Dr. Michelle Halls shares how dissecting the spatial organization of GPCR signaling opens new doors in drug discovery. From early discoveries in cyclic AMP signaling to uncovering ultrasensitive receptor responses at femtomolar ligand concentrations, her work highlights why receptor localization and protein complex assembly matter for therapeutic targeting. This conversation is especially valuable for scientists developing functional assays, fluorescence-based tools, and high-throughput GPCR screens. Inside This Episode How ultrasensitive GPCR signaling emerges from pre-assembled receptor–effector complexes at the plasma membrane. Why receptor localization and scaffolding dramatically shift functional readouts in disease models. What early cyclic AMP assays revealed about spatial signaling long before high-content technologies existed. The moment when femtomolar ligand concentrations uncovered unexpected receptor sensitivity. How an integrated training and lab structure at Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences fosters innovation in functional assay development and GPCR research. Why It Might Hit Home If you’ve ever: Faced unexpected assay behavior at ultra-low ligand concentrations, Balanced innovation with robust validation under real experimental constraints, Tried to map signaling heterogeneity in disease-relevant models, Built assays that need to work in real biology—not just on paper, …this episode will resonate. About the Guest Michelle Halls is an Associate Professor at Monash University and Deputy Theme Leader of Drug Discovery Biology at Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. She leads the Spatial Organisation of Signalling Laboratory, where her team investigates how GPCRs orchestrate localized signaling events, how these mechanisms are hijacked in disease, and how they can be leveraged for therapeutic innovation. Michelle earned her PhD in Molecular Pharmacology at Monash University, then trained in single-cell biology as an NHMRC CJ Martin Fellow at University of Cambridge. She established her lab in 2011, and today she is a Viertel Senior Medical Research Fellow. Her recognitions include the 2024 ASCEPT Achievement Award, the 2023 BPS Geoffrey Burnstock Prize, and the 2019 Faculty Future Research Leader Award. More about Michelle Halls Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences Bluesky LinkedIn Articles about this Podcast Episode How GPCR Spatial Signaling Sparked a Scientific Journey From Pipettes to Platforms: The Evolution of GPCR Research How GPCR Collaboration Built an Innovation Engine 🎓 Want more like this? Get behind-the-scenes conversations, advanced assay development strategies, and practical GPCR tools inside Dr. GPCR Premium . Join a global GPCR community of scientists and biotech leaders. 👉 Join now 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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. Andrew Tobin About Dr. Andrew Tobin Andrew Tobin studied Biochemistry at Queen Mary College, the University of London obtaining first-class honors before studying for a Dr. Phil at the University of Oxford. Following a post-doctoral period at Bristol Myers Squibb in Princeton USA, Andrew returned to the UK to establish his own laboratory at the University of Leicester. Funded through three consecutive Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowships Andrew established a reputation in the field of receptor signaling. Now at the University of Glasgow, his primary research interests are focused on the rational design of novel drugs to treat the three global health challenges of dementia, asthma, and malaria. In this Andrew runs a research laboratory of around 15 staff supported by basic research grants investigating aspects of disease biology and the action of drugs in the context of disease. The vehicle by which Andrew is translating fundamental findings to commercial products is Keltic Pharma Therapeutics Ltd , a biotechnology company co-founded by Andrew with series A funding from the European Union. Andrew is also the Director of the Advanced Research Centre (ARC) a collaborative initiative at the University of Glasgow underpinned by a £118M new build that will house over 550 researchers designed to drive interdisciplinary research. Dr. Andrew Tobin on the web University of Glasgow ResearchGate Google Scholar 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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. Prasenjit Saha About Dr. Prasenjit Saha I conducted my doctoral research at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India, to investigate the mechanisms behind rare mitochondrial diseases, which can lead to heart failure, muscle fatigue, and neurodegenerative disorders. I am now working at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, USA, studying the gut microbiome and its impact on cardiovascular disease (CVD). Specifically, I am interested in understanding dysregulated G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling linked to atherosclerosis and diabetes. My research goal is to identify novel cellular target receptors of human gut microbe-derived metabolites that are pathologically linked to CVD. Discovering these receptors would be a significant breakthrough in cardiovascular biology as they could be targeted for therapeutic purposes. During my post-doctoral research, I was part of a study that identified the receptors of a novel human gut microbe-derived metabolite called phenylacetylglutamine (PAG), which is linked to cardiovascular disease. This study demonstrated that PAG is a potential diagnostic marker for CVD as it causes serious fatal conditions such as thrombus formation, which can block blood vessels. In this study, I discovered adrenergic receptors (α2A, α2B, and β2-adrenergic receptors) that serve as the gut microbial metabolite (PAG) receptor and characterized the receptor-metabolite interaction. More recently, I have shifted my focus to identifying allosteric modulators of host G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that contribute to cardio-metabolic disorders. Traditional drug discovery efforts have focused on agonists and antagonists that bind to the orthosteric site of the receptor. However, the pursuit of allosteric modulators has gained attention as they have the potential to fine-tune cellular responses with greater selectivity among the subtypes of GPCRs. My long-term plan is to conduct research in the field of receptor biology, with a focus on GPCRs. They are the largest, most versatile, and most ubiquitous class of plasma membrane receptors and serve as targets for more than one-third of all prescribed drugs currently used in the treatment of human diseases all over the world. Dr. Prasenjit Saha on the web Google Scholar Pubmed 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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. 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 Recent Podcast Articles Asking Better Questions in Science: A Practical Guide for Emerging Researchers When the Islet Lit Up: Advancing GPCR Imaging in Native Tissue How Collaboration Sparked a GPCR Imaging Breakthrough in Chemical Biology 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 >>