Advances in G Protein-Coupled Receptor Research Event Date: June 17, 2008 12:00 Noon Eastern Time; 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, 4 p.m. GMT Brought to you by the Science/AAAS Business Office   Submit your questions now to the panelists by sending an e-mail to: webinar@aaas.org Please keep your questions short and to the point to give them the best chance of being asked. Questions will be put to the experts during the webinar.   Real Player   Real Media Video (56k/150k)   Windows Media Player   Windows Media Video (56k/150k)     Membrane bound G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play an integral role in sensing the external environment of the cell. A broad range of external stimuli signal through GPCRs including neurotransmitters, hormones, odor molecules, cations, and even photons. Their position at the apex of essential signal transduction pathways means that malfunctioning of these molecules frequently leads to disease, making them a perfect target for drug therapies. Further, naturally occurring and induced mutations in GPCRs can provide valuable information about these signaling pathways and their role in human pathologies. You are invited to join our panel of thought leaders in a live video webinar discussion about these very important proteins. During the broadcast, you will: Gain insight into the broad range of GPCR proteins and their role in signaling and disease Learn about techniques and technologies available to study GPCRs See data from recent GCPR studies, presented by top scientists in the field have the opportunity to ask questions of the expert panel LIVE during the event   Speakers: Jeffrey Conn, Ph.D. Department of Pharmacology Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN Dr. Conn received his Ph.D. degree in Pharmacology from Vanderbilt University in 1986 and pursued postdoctoral studies in the Department of Pharmacology at Yale University. He joined the faculty of the Department of Pharmacology at Emory University in 1988. In 2000, Dr. Conn assumed the position of Senior Director and Head of the Department of Neuroscience at Merck and Company’s site in West Point, PA. He returned to Vanderbilt University in 2003 to start a new Program in Drug Discovery, with a primary mission of facilitating translation of recent advances in basic science to novel therapeutics. Dr. Conn is currently the Lee E. Limbird Professor of Pharmacology and Director of the Vanderbilt Program in Drug Discovery. He is Editor in Chief of Molecular Pharmacology, Regional Editor (North America) of Current Neuropharmacology, while also serving on the editorial boards of 6 other international journals. He serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of a number of pharmaceutical companies and foundations, and is Chairman of the Neuropharmacology Division of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET). Dr Conn has received numerous awards and honors and was named as an ISI Most-Cited Scientists in Pharmacology & Toxicology. Dr. Conn’s current research is focused on development of novel treatment strategies for schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, and other brain disorders. Michel Bouvier, Ph.D. Department of Biochemistry, Institut de Recherche en Immunologie et Cancer (IRIC), University of Montreal Montreal, Canada Following his Ph.D. in Neurological Sciences at Montréal University in 1985, Dr Bouvier went on to complete a postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University in the United States. In 1989, he returned to Montréal as a scholar of the Medical Research Council of Canada and Assistant Professor of Biochemistry in the Faculty of Medicine of Montréal University. He was Chairman of the Biochemistry Department between 1997 and 2005 and was awarded the Hans-Selye Chair in Cell and Molecular Biology in 1997 and the Canada Research Chair in Signal Transduction and Molecular Pharmacology in 2001. He is now the director of the University Research Group on Drug Discovery, and professor of Biochemistry at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, at Montréal University. Dr. Bouvier is the author of more than 160 scientific papers and has delivered numerous invited talks. He is a world renowned expert in the field of G protein-coupled receptors and has made seminal contributions to our understanding of this major class of drug targets. He has served on many peer review committees and scientific advisory boards and his contributions to the field of Molecular Pharmacology have been recognized by many awards. Brian Kobilka, M.D. Department of Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Physiology Stanford University Stanford, CA Dr Kobilka completed his undergraduate training in Biology and Chemistry at the University of Minnesota and his medical degree at Yale University School of Medicine. Following a research fellowship at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, Dr Kobilka joined the faculty of Duke in 1987. He later took up an Assistant Professorship at Stanford University School of Medicine where he moved up the ranks to his current position as Professor in the departments of Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Physiology. Dr Kobilka has published numerous papers in eminent peer-reviewed journals, as well as receiving many awards and honors for his research. He currently sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology. His research is focused on understanding the structural basis for the functional properties of G protein-coupled receptors.   Moderator: Sean Sanders, Ph.D., Commercial Editor, Science/AAAS Sean Sanders did his undergraduate training at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and his Ph.D. under Sir Dillwyn Williams at the University of Cambridge, UK, supported by the Wellcome Trust. Following postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health and Georgetown University, Dr. Sanders joined TranXenoGen, a startup biotechnology company in Massachusetts working on avian transgenics. Pursuing his parallel passion for writing and editing, Dr. Sanders joined BioTechniques as an editor in 2004 before recently taking the position of Commercial Editor at Science/AAAS.   ___________________________________________________________________________________________________   Test Your System   Help   Download Real Player   Download Windows Media Player