Prateek D. Bansal, a chemical and biomolecular engineering graduate student in our group defended his thesis on “Activation Mechanism of non-class A GPCRs” in July 2025. Prateek joined our group after completing undergraduate studies in Chemical Engineering from Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India.
G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs) are membrane proteins that maintain homeostasis across a plethora of biochemical signaling pathways through conformational changes. This makes them prime drug targets – currently, 34% of FDA approved drugs target GPCRs. While numerous structural and computational studies have been reported for class A GPCRs, research on other classes of GPCRs have lagged behind. Prateek’s thesis is focused on activation of non-class A GPCRs. In particular, this thesis is focused on Class F Receptor, Smoothened. It is an integral part of the Hedgehog Signaling Pathway, responsible for mediating embryonic cellular differentiation. Overstimulation of SMO has been linked to medulloblastoma and Basal Cell Carcinoma. Hence, studying the activation mechanism of Smoothened is integral for designing inhibitor drugs for cancer therapy.
Congratulations Dr. Bansal!