YOKOI Shun received the Matsuo Research Award after his review lecture at the 18th GPCR meeting held at Shimadzu Tokyo Innovation Plaza (Kanagawa Prefecture) from Saturday, May 25 to Sunday, May 26, 2024.
Among the approximately 35,000 human genes, there are approximately 620 G protein-coupled receptors, of which around 100 are considered to be orphan receptors whose endogenous ligands are still unknown. Understanding G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and their endogenous ligands is considered the first step in elucidating unknown life phenomena. The GPCR meeting was established in 2004 to focus on this topic and has been held annually since then. The Matsuo Research Award was established to honor the achievements of Dr. MATSUO Hisayuki, who succeeded in determining the structure of luteinizing hormone-releasing factor (LH-RH) and contributed greatly to Dr. Andrew Viktor Schally (USA) receiving the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
At the meeting, YOKOI gave a presentation titled “Structural and Computational Insights into Dynamics and Intermediate States of Orexin 2 Receptor Signaling.” Using computational methods such as molecular simulations and database analyses to predict the behavior of invisible biomolecules, he gained new insights into the dynamics and intermediate states in the activation of the orexin 2 receptor, a biomolecule involved in sleep-wake functions. His work was highly evaluated, earning him the Matsuo Research Award.
≪Japanese version≫
