SEMINAR: �New Frontiers in G Protein-Coupled Receptor Drug Discovery."

A/Prof Kevin Pfleger is Head of Molecular Endocrinology–GPCRs at WAIMR and Chief Scientific Officer of Dimerix Bioscience, a spin-out company from WAIMR and UWA. A/Prof Pfleger was awarded his MA and PhD from Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities respectively. He relocated to WA in October 2002 and was an NHMRC Peter Doherty Research Fellow from 2005 to 2008. He was named Western Australian Young Scientist of the Year 2009 and his work featured as one of the NHMRC 10 of the Best Research Projects 2010.

A/Prof Pfleger’s lab is developing and using innovative approaches for studying G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), a family of proteins on the surface of our cells that are the target for 40-50% of current pharmaceuticals. The aim is to significantly improve GPCR drug development, both in terms of identifying novel compounds of interest and better understanding the biochemical basis of drug activity. In particular, the goal is to generate better pharmaceuticals with fewer side effects.