Dr Dan Donnelly

Profile

I am a Senior Lecturer in Molecular Pharmacology and the Programme Leader for BSc/MBiol Pharmacology degree programmes. I studied BSc Biological Chemistry at Leicester and a PhD in computational molecular modelling of membrane proteins in the Dept Crystallography at Birkbeck College, University of London. I moved to Leeds in 1991 as a post doc in Dept. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, working on tachykinin receptors, before moving to the Dept. Pharmacology as a lecturer in 1995.

Responsibilities

• Programme Leader for BSc/MBiol Pharmacology

Research interests

I started working on understanding the structure, function and molecular pharmacology of GPCRs in 1988 during my PhD. GPCRs are one of the most diverse and ubiquitous families of integral membrane proteins and they constitute a significant proportion of known drug targets. Since 1995, I have mostly focussed on understanding the family B GPCRs, especially the GLP-1 receptor and the parathyroid hormone receptors (PTH1 and PTH2). Using molecular modelling/dynamics, combined with data from molecular biological & pharmacological approaches, my research work has attempted to elucidate the mechanism by which these receptors bind their ligands and transduce their signal across the plasma membrane. I am now mostly occupied with undergraduate teaching but mainatin an interest in GPCR structure and pharmacology.

<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Any research projects I'm currently working on will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://biologicalsciences.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>

Qualifications

• BSc 1988, Leicester
• PhD 1992, London
• CLTHE 1996, Leeds

Professional memberships

• British Pharmacological Society
• Biochemical Society

Student education

Academic roles:

• UG Programme Leader - Pharmacology programmes

Committees:

• Member of Faculty Taught Student Education Committee (Co-opted member)

• Member of Undergraduate School Taught Student Education Committee (Programme Manager: Pharmacology)

Research groups and institutes

• Integrative Membrane Biology

<h4>Postgraduate research opportunities</h4> <p>We welcome enquiries from motivated and qualified applicants from all around the world who are interested in PhD study. Our <a href="https://phd.leeds.ac.uk">research opportunities</a> allow you to search for projects and scholarships.</p>