Brian Kobilka
Brian Kobilka | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | University of Minnesota, Duluth, Yale University School of Medicine |
| Known for | Structure of the beta-2 adrenergic receptor |
| Awards | Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2012) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Crystallography |
| Institutions | Stanford University School of Medicine |
| Academic advisors | Robert Lefkowitz |
Brian Kent Kobilka, M.D. (born 1955 in Little Falls, Minnesota) is a Nobel Prize winning professor in the departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine in the United States. He is also the co-founder of ConfometRx, a biotechnology company focusing on G-protein coupled receptors. He was named a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2011.
Kobilka received a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, earned his M.D., cum laude, from Yale University School of Medicine. Following residency in internal medicine at Washington University School of Medicine, Barnes Hospital, in St. Louis, Kobilka worked in research as an postdoctoral fellow under Robert Lefkowitz at Duke University where he started work on cloning the β2-adrenergic receptor. Kobilka moved to Stanford in 1989.[1] He was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator from 1987-2003[2] .
Kobilka is best known for his research on the structure and activity of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs); in particular, work from Kobilka's laboratory determined the molecular structure of the beta-2 adrenergic receptor.[3][4][5][6] This work has been highly cited by other scientists because GPCRs are important targets for pharmaceutical therapeutics, but notoriously difficult to work with in X-ray crystallography.[7]
Kobilka is the 1994 recipient of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics John J. Abel Award in Pharmacology.[8] His GPCR structure work was named "runner-up" for the 2007 "Breakthrough of the Year" award from Science.[9] The work was, in part, supported by Kobilka's 2004 Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award[10] from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.[11] He won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Robert Lefkowitz for his work on G-Coupled receptors.
Personal Life
Brian is from central Minnesota and his grandfather and father were bakers. He met his wife Tong Sun Thian at University of Minnesota, Duluth. They have two children[12] .
References
- ^ "The state of GPCR research in 2004 : Nature Reviews Drug Discovery". Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ "Brian K. Kobilka, M.D." HHMI. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- ^ Forbes: "Cell Insights Could Bring Better Drugs". Retrieved 2008-10-16. [dead link]
- ^ Rasmussen SG, Choi HJ, Rosenbaum DM, Kobilka TS, Thian FS, Edwards PC, Burghammer M, Ratnala VR, Sanishvili R, Fischetti RF, Schertler GF, Weis WI, Kobilka BK (2007). "Crystal structure of the human β2-adrenergic G-protein-coupled receptor". Nature. 450 (7168): 383–7. doi:10.1038/nature06325. PMID 17952055.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Cherezov V, Rosenbaum DM, Hanson MA, Rasmussen SG, Thian FS, Kobilka TS, Choi HJ, Kuhn P, Weis WI, Kobilka BK, Stevens RC (2007). "High Resolution Crystal Structure of an Engineered Human β2-Adrenergic G protein-Coupled Receptor". Science. 318 (5854): 1258–65. doi:10.1126/science.1150577. PMC 2583103. PMID 17962520.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Rosenbaum DM, Cherezov V, Hanson MA, Rasmussen SG, Thian FS, Kobilka TS, Choi HJ, Yao XJ, Weis WI, Stevens RC, Kobilka BK (2007). "GPCR engineering yields high-resolution structural insights into β2-adrenergic receptor function". Science. 318 (5854): 1266–73. doi:10.1126/science.1150609. PMID 17962519.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ ScienceWatch.com: "Interview with Brian Kobilka". Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ "ASPET J.J. Abel Award". Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ "Kobilka's work recognized in magazine award". Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ "Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award Recognizes Eight Exemplary Scientists: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)". Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ "The Structure of an Important Drug Target Made Crystal Clear: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)". Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ Buchen, Lizzie (24 August 2011). "Cell signalling: It's all about the structure". Nature. 476 (7361): 387–390. doi:10.1038/476387a.