A prominent biochemist, Dr. Kobilka is best known for his studies on the structure and mechanism of activation of G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), which represent a large proportion of active and suggested drug targets. He has focused primarily on the β2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR), a GPCR that mediates physiologic responses to adrenaline. His research has employed a spectrum of approaches ranging from gene disruption in mice to structural biology to characterize this receptor’s physiologic role in vivo and determine its mechanism of activation in molecular detail.
Dr. Kobilka’s groundbreaking studies have contributed greatly to the understanding of membrane protein structure, function, and dysfunction. His data have since been used to expand the fields of cell and molecular biology, as well as cancer pharmacology. Furthermore, his use of X-ray crystallography to determine the 3-dimensional structure of proteins has served as a vital blueprint for many studies involving oncogenic and tumor suppressive proteins. Dr. Kobilka’s discoveries, which have been recognized with the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, have been valuable to numerous cancer researchers in their design and development of better drugs and targeted therapies.
Career Highlights
2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
2011 Elected Member, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.
2010 Julius Axelrod Award, American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
2010 Krebs Lectureship, University of Washington
2010 Ariëns Award, Dutch Pharmacological Society
2008 William R. Veatch Lectureship, Harvard University
2007 Bass Lectureship, Vanderbilt University Department of Pharmacology
2006 Doisy Lectureship, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2004 Javits Investigator Award, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
2004 Arthur H. Briggs Lectureship, University of Texas, San Antonio
2000 Professor of Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University
1995 Young Investigator Award, Western Society for Clinical Investigation
1994 John J. Abel Award in Pharmacology, American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
1994 Syntex Prize in Receptor Pharmacology
1981 MD, Yale University School of Medicine