Brian K. Kobilka

2012 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (with Robert Lefkowitz) for pioneering work, elucidating the mechanism of G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) function. In 2007 he obtained two crystal structures of the beta2 adrenergic receptor (b2AR): the first structures of a hormone/neurotransmitter activated GPCR. More recently he succeeded in obtaining active state structures of the b2AR including the b2AR-Gs complex. These crystallography studies provide the first high-resolution snap-shots of transmembrane signaling by G protein coupled receptors, as well as insights into the structural basis for ligand binding specificity. Half of all medications used today make use of this class of receptor.