Understanding the complex nature of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) functionality and exploiting this knowledge for the design of new GPCR modulators has been the central focus of GPCR Spring Conference 2014 organized by the GRIB researchers Jana Selent and Maria Martí at Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (Barcelona) from 28-30th April.
GPCRs are the largest family of proteins involved in signal transduction across membranes and one of the most important pharmaceutical drug target classes. During this 3 day event, researchers have presented and discussed their most recent advances in GPCR research with the final aim to provide new opportunities for original treatments of a wide range of diseases.
The conference program attracted more than 150 international experts specialized in state-of-the-art computational and experimental methods to explore this receptor family. Special emphasis has been given to contributions of junior scientists in the form of short talks and posters. Most importantly, the event has succeeded in promoting and strengthening the GLISTEN community – a recently established European multidisciplinary network of researchers investigating G protein-coupled receptor signalling.