G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute a large superfamily of hepta-helical transmembrane receptors, comprising of over 800 members, that perceive a huge repertoire of extracellular signals, including but not limited to light, gustatory molecules, hormones, chemokines, and neurotransmitters. GPCRs are so named because of their ability to couple to heterotrimeric G-proteins. GPCRs also couple to β-arrestins, which facilitate attenuation of G-protein mediated signaling and also elicits G-protein independent signaling. Their presence on a large variety of tissues and cells, and involvement in mediating body homeostasis by being an active component of all major systems, implicates them as a major drug target. Disruption of normal signaling via GPCRs, either their up-regulation or down-regulation, manifests physiologically in the form of different diseases. In fact, more than 40% of all commercially available drugs target GPCRs.

My work focuses on the structural and functional characterization of GPCRs.