G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a group of membrane receptors with seven transmembrane helices. They sense various signals from outside of the cells, transfer the signals to intracellular pathways and modulate cellular responses to environment. The ligands of GPCRs include odorants, hormones, neurotransmitters, chemokines, et al. GPCRs are targets of approximately 30% commercially available medicines. Structural studies on GPCRs have made great progress in the past decade, however the structural basis of receptor-G protein selectivity and the molecular mechanism of biased signaling remain unclear. My lab aims to elucidate structures of disease related GPCRs and structure-based drug development. We also aim to develop novel methods to find GPCR drugs.

Elucidated the molecular mechanisms of how allosteric modulators regulate the function of the β2 adrenergic receptor (β2AR). Provided guidace to the development of allosteric drugs for GPCRs.    
Proposed the model of the dynamic process of GPCR-G protein complex formation.

1.Identified the binding pockets of the first intracellular allosteric agonist and the first intracellular allosteric antagonist of the β2 adrenergic receptor, elucidated the molecular mechanism of how the allosteric modulators regulate receptor function. (     Science, 2019.     Nature, 2017)