BioCity Turku Invites 2012 Nobel Laureate Brian Kobilka to Give an Online Presentation at the University of Turku on October 8

The Frontiers of Science seminar series invites world-leading scientists to present their recent achievements in various fields of research. These seminars have been on hold because of the Covid-19 pandemic but will now be continued as online events. 

The first invited speaker is Nobel Laureate Brian K. Kobilka (born in 1955) who in 2012 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with Robert J. Lefkowitz for their research on G protein-coupled receptors. At present, Dr. Kobilka is the Hélène Irwin Fagan Chair in Cardiology and a Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology at Stanford University. 

Brian Kobilka started his studies at the University of Minnesota in Duluth, Minnesota, and then earned his medical degree from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. After a medical residency in St. Louis, Missouri, he moved to Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where he started his Nobel Prize research. For the first time, Kobilka and his coworkers identified, purified and cloned a set of genes encoding mammalian adrenergic receptors, which were then realized to be similar to rhodopsin, the light-sensitive photoreceptor in the eye. A whole family of such receptors were found to exist: the G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) – which today are considered to be the largest family of transmembrane receptors in humans. Approximately one-third of all commercially available drugs use GPCRs as targets. 

After moving to Stanford University in California, Kobilka continued his work and managed to resolve and publish several high-resolution crystal structures of G protein-coupled receptors which, for the first time, revealed the molecular details of those receptors in action. Current efforts in Prof. Kobilka’s laboratory are focused on using a series of structural and biophysical tools to elucidate the dynamic structures of GPCRs and investigate the influence of pharmacological agents on GPCR signaling. In addition to his scientific achievements, Prof. Kobilka is a devoted advocate for physician-scientists. He has played an important role in integrating scientific research in the medical training curriculum at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Register to the seminar latest October 6th at 12:00

All the Frontiers of Science seminars this autumn are arranged as eTALKs. Registration to the events is obligatory and the invitation is sent via email one day prior the seminar.  Registration links will be available on BioCity Turku website few weeks before the event. Please note that any audio or video recording of the seminar is strictly forbidden.

If you wish to follow BioCity Turku news feeds and receive up to date information about the Frontiers of Science seminars and other events, please contact BioCity Turku coordinator at biocityturku@bioscience.fi