Brian Kobilka facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Brian Kobilka
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Brian Kobilka at Stanford in 2024
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Brian Kent Kobilka
May 30, 1955 Little Falls, Minnesota, United States
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| Alma mater | University of Minnesota Duluth (BS) Yale University (MD) |
| Awards | Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2012) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Crystallography |
| Institutions | Stanford University, Duke University |
| Academic advisors | Robert Lefkowitz |
Brian Kent Kobilka (born May 30, 1955) is an American scientist who studies how living things work (a physiologist). He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2012 with Robert Lefkowitz. They won for finding out how special tiny switches on our cells, called G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), work. These switches help our cells talk to each other. Brian Kobilka is a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. He also helped start a company called ConfometRx, which focuses on these cell switches. In 2011, he became a member of the National Academy of Sciences, which is a group of top scientists.
Early life and education
Brian Kobilka grew up in Little Falls, Minnesota. He went to St. Mary's Grade School and then graduated from Little Falls High School. He studied Biology and Chemistry at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Later, he earned his medical degree (M.D.) from Yale University School of Medicine.
After medical school, he worked at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. Then, he joined Robert Lefkowitz's research team at Duke University. There, he started working on finding the genetic code for a specific cell switch called the beta-2 adrenergic receptor. In 1989, Kobilka moved to Stanford University. He was also a researcher for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute from 1987 to 2003.
Amazing discoveries
Brian Kobilka is famous for his work on G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). These are like tiny antennas or switches on the outside of our cells. They help cells respond to things like light, smells, and hormones. Many medicines work by targeting these GPCRs.
His lab figured out the exact 3D shape of the beta-2 adrenergic receptor. This was a very big deal because GPCRs are hard to study using a method called X-ray crystallography. This method helps scientists see the detailed shape of tiny molecules. Before Kobilka's work, only one other GPCR (called rhodopsin) had its shape fully mapped out. After his discovery, many other GPCR shapes were found.
His research was even called a "runner-up" for the "Breakthrough of the Year" award by Science magazine in 2007. In 2012, he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Robert Lefkowitz for all his important work on GPCRs. In 2017, he received another award, the Golden Plate Award.
Brian Kobilka also helped open the Kobilka Institute of Innovative Drug Discovery in Southern China in 2017. This institute helps research new medicines.
Family life
Brian Kobilka comes from Little Falls, Minnesota. His grandfather and father were both bakers there. His grandmother's family owned a brewery in Little Falls a long time ago.
He met his wife, Tong Sun Thian, when they were both students at the University of Minnesota Duluth. They have two children, Jason and Megan.
See also
In Spanish: Brian Kobilka para niños
