Brian Kobilka

Biographical Overview & Key Facts

Subject:

Brian Kobilka

Role / Field:

Pioneering physiologist known for elucidating the structure of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).

Born:

1955-05-30

Century / Era:

1955s Historical Era

Database Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Origins & Early Life

Brian Kent Kobilka (born May 30, 1955) is an American physiologist and a recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Robert Lefkowitz for discoveries that reveal the workings of G protein-coupled receptors. He is currently a professor in the department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology at Stanford University School of Medicine. He is also a co-founder of ConfometRx, a biotechnology company focusing on G protein-coupled receptors. He was named a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2011. Kobilka attended St. Mary's Grade School in Little Falls, Minnesota, a part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

He then graduated from Little Falls High School. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Minnesota Duluth, and earned his M.D., cum laude, from Yale University School of Medicine. Following the completion of his residency in internal medicine at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine's Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Kobilka worked in research as a postdoctoral fellow under Robert Lefkowitz at Duke University, where he started work on cloning the β2-adrenergic receptor. Kobilka moved to Stanford in 1989. He was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator from 1987 to 2003.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Kobilka is best known for his research on the structure and activity of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs); in particular, work from Kobilka's laboratory determined the molecular structure of the β2-adrenergic receptor. This work has been highly cited by other scientists because GPCRs are important targets for pharmaceutical therapeutics, but notoriously difficult to work with in X-ray crystallography. Before, rhodopsin was the only G-protein coupled receptor where the structure had been determined at high resolution. The β2-adrenergic receptor structure was soon followed by the determination of the molecular structure of several other G-protein coupled receptors. Kobilka is the 1994 recipient of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics John J. Abel Award in Pharmacology.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1955 (1955-05-30): Birth of Brian Kobilka — Pioneering physiologist known for elucidating the structure of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).
2. 1987: 1987 Milestone — He was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator from 1987 to 2003.
3. 1994: 1994 Milestone — Kobilka is the 1994 recipient of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics John J.
4. 2011: 2011 Milestone — He was named a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2011.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Brian Kobilka

True or False: “The initial high-resolution structural determination of a GPCR was achieved with rhodopsin.”

Answer (TRUE ⭕): Rhodopsin was the first G protein coupled receptor whose structure was determined at high resolution using crystallography.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Brian Kobilka