The industry talk by Dr. Ainoleena Turku from Orion Pharma will take place on Wednesday 22 September 2021 at 13:00 BST.

Registration (required to attend): cost £0; registration link here; deadline 20 September 2021

Title: Structural insights into Frizzleds - the power of combining simulations to experiments

Abstract:

The class F of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), consisting of ten Frizzled (FZD1-10) subtypes and Smoothened (SMO), remains one of the most enigmatic GPCR families. Class F receptors are intrinsically involved in embryonic development, tissue homeostasis and pathology, most prominently oncogenesis, thus emphasizing the need for a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of receptor activation. FZDs mediate WNT signaling and SMO mediates hedgehog signaling, but underlying mechanisms of ligand binding, receptor activation and signal specification and initiation have remained obscure. Here, Dr. Ainoleena Turku (Orion Pharma, Finland) will present her work with the class F GPCRs. In addition, she will discuss molecular modelling in the pharmaceutical industry settings and her transition from academic research to pharmaceutical industry.