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This figure illustrates the multiscale platform used for the discovery and validation of PAK1 kinase activators. The approach begins with PAK1-activating peptide as a guide to identify potential binding sites for virtual screening of small-molecule activators. Hits are then validated using mass spectrometry-based assays to confirm PAK1 activation, and further characterised through biophysical and structural studies to elucidate the mechanism of action. Finally, the therapeutic potential of the PAK1 activators is evaluated in both in vitro and in vivo models of cardiac hypertrophy.

Oxford-led study reveals new way to activate protein kinases, opening new therapeutic possibilities

Researchers at the University of Oxford have developed a new strategy to activate protein kinases — a major class of enzymes that regulate essential cellular processes — offering a potential pathway to treat diseases where current therapies remain limited.

Key cellular channel identified as a brake on lung scarring

Pulmonary fibrosis is a serious and often fatal condition in which lung tissue becomes progressively scarred, stiff, and less able to transfer oxygen into the bloodstream. With limited treatment options and no cure other than lung transplantation, there is an urgent need to understand the biological mechanisms that drive this disease. A new study from the Grimm Group, published in The EMBO Journal, identifies a previously unrecognised protective role for a cellular ion channel called TRPML1 in preventing lung scarring. The research shows that when this channel is absent or non-functional, the lungs develop a fibrosis-like condition marked by excessive accumulation of structural proteins such as collagen and elastin

EMA approval of IntraBio’s Aqneursa marks a major milestone for the Department of Pharmacology, with further Phase 3 success in Ataxia Telangiectasia

On 21 January, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved Aqneursa, a new treatment for Niemann-Pick Disease Type C (NPC) in adults and children, marking a major milestone for research originating in the Department of Pharmacology. Aqneursa already received US FDA approval (September 2024), enabling patient access on both sides of the Atlantic.

Potential synaptic circuitry underlying feedback alignment, shown for a single hidden unit. There are many possible configurations that could support learning with feedback alignment, or algorithms like it, and it is this structural flexibility that is important.

Akerman group paper wins inaugural Sejnowski-Hinton Prize

Congratulations to Professor Colin Akerman and members of his team who have been awarded the inaugural Sejnowski-Hinton Prize for their groundbreaking 2016 paper “Random synaptic feedback weights support error backpropagation for deep learning”

More news

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Tuesday, 26 May 2026, 12pm to 1pm

Speaker(s): Lisa Wells (Vice President of Translational Pharmacology, Perceptive (formerly Imanova))

Host: Associate Professor Sri Vasudevan

PharmacoSTORM super-resolution imaging of non-canonical forms of cannabinoid and dopamine signalling

Tuesday, 02 June 2026, 12pm to 1pm

Speaker(s): Professor Istvan Katona (Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University)

Host: Professor Peter Somogyi

Learning requires precise neuronal timing in the hippocampus during locomotion

Tuesday, 09 June 2026, 12pm to 1pm

Speaker(s): Dr Abhilasha Joshi (National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research)

Host: Professor Peter Somogyi

20TH DAVID SMITH LECTURE: Bridge-like intracellular lipid transfer proteins: roles in physiology and neurodegenerative disease

Thursday, 11 June 2026, 12pm to 1pm

Speaker(s): Professor Pietro De Camilli (Professor of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Yale University)

Host: Professor Antony Galione

Targeting prolylcarboxypeptidase-mediated autophagy for cardiac protection

Tuesday, 16 June 2026, 12pm to 1pm

Speaker(s): Professor Xin Wang (Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester)

Host: Professor Ming Lei