Lab Leader: Youwen Zhuang

Lab Name: Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology and Drug Design

Lab Info：Our laboratory investigates the molecular pharmacology of neurotransmitter receptors and advances structure-based or AI-based drug design, with a primary emphasis on neurotransmitter GPCRs. We focus particularly on receptors fundamental to the onset and progression of neuropsychiatric disorders, including dopamine, opioid, and serotonin receptor systems, etc.

The research interests encompass:

1. Elucidating the molecular basis of precision pharmacology and signal transduction mechanisms of neurotransmitter receptors. The membrane receptors of neurotransmitters such as GPCRs respond to diverse ligands exhibiting distinct pharmacological profiles, such as antagonist, partial agonist, and allosteric modulator activities. We aim to uncover the precise molecular mechanisms underlying these varied pharmacological responses, thereby informing the design of drugs with desired pharmacological activities;

2. Structure-based screening and development of novel therapeutics for neurological disorders;

3. The neuropharmacological mechanisms of neuropsychiatric drugs;

4. Identification and discovery of innovative drug targets for the treatment of neuropsychiatric conditions.

Lab Members: