Brian K. Kobilka

Research Statement

AI generated · 2d ago

Brian K. Kobilka's structural work centers on how G-protein-coupled receptors transmit signals across membranes. His most-cited lead-author studies include the β2 adrenergic receptor–Gs protein complex (2011), which revealed how a receptor engages its G protein, and the earlier crystal structure of the human β2 adrenergic receptor (2007), a landmark in receptor crystallography. Related efforts on nanobody-stabilized active-state receptors and on GPCR engineering for high-resolution structural insights helped establish general principles of receptor activation, later extended to µ-opioid and muscarinic receptor activation and allosteric modulation. Earlier contributions include the cloning of the mammalian β-adrenergic receptor gene and cDNA (1986), which first linked the receptor to rhodopsin, and participation in the crystal structure of the µ-opioid receptor bound to a morphinan antagonist (2012). Collaborations with Aashish Manglik and Andrew C. Kruse appear across these structural studies. No software, datasets, patents, or grants are indexed beyond publications. Taken together, the work traces a line from receptor cloning through engineered receptors to active-state complexes, clarifying the molecular basis of GPCR activation.

Most Cited Works

High-Resolution Crystal Structure of an Engineered Human β 2 -Adrenergic G Protein–Coupled Receptor

Vadim Cherezov, Daniel M Rosenbaum, Michael A Hanson, Søren G F Rasmussen, Foon Sun Thian, Tong Sun Kobilka, Hee-Jung Choi, Peter Kuhn, William I Weis, Brian K Kobilka, Raymond C Stevens

Science2007

3,270Citations

Crystal structure of the β2 adrenergic receptor–Gs protein complex

Søren G F Rasmussen, Brian T DeVree, Yaozhong Zou, Andrew C Kruse, Ka Young Chung,

Research Areas

Receptor Mechanisms and SignalingNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology ReseaProtein Structure and DynamicsProtein Kinase Regulation and GTPase SigNeuropeptides and Animal Physiology

Affiliations & Education

Employment

1989–present· now
Stanford University(US)
Professor · Molecular and Cellular Physiology

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