The C.R. Stephen Lectures are sponsored by WashU Medicine’s Department of Anesthesiology and honors the department’s first chair, C. Ronald Stephen, MD, FFARCS.

Brian Kobilka, MD, will present on "G Protein Coupled Receptors: Challenges and New Approaches to Drug Discovery."

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) mediate the majority of cellular responses to hormones and neurotransmitters, as well as the senses of sight, smell and taste. They represent the largest class of drug targets for the pharmaceutical industry; however, there are many obstacles to the discovery and development of safe and effective drugs for specific GPCR targets. Dr. Kobilka will provide an overview of the molecular basis of GPCR signaling, and discuss the challenges in drug discovery for GPCRs using the μ-opioid receptor (μOR) as a model system.

Kobilka will discuss what his lab has learned about the structural basis for G protein isoform and arrestin-biased signaling by the μOR.