Danny Chou
Stanford University, CA·Chemistry
Insulin works by binding the insulin receptor (IR), a protein on cell surfaces that tells cells to take up sugar from the blood. Almost all drug work has focused on agonists, molecules that switch the receptor on, because injected insulin is central to diabetes treatment.
- Fields
Chemistry
Pharmacology
Biochemistry
- Topics
insulin receptor
insulin signaling
receptor antagonist
- Grants
- 2 known grants, through May 2031
What they work on
- Define the molecular mechanism of insulin receptor antagonism and partial agonism, starting from an antagonistic insulin derivative the team discovered, and gather structural insights into how such molecules engage the receptor.
- Develop potent insulin receptor antagonists as therapeutic candidates for congenital hyperinsulinism, an inherited disease in which excess insulin release drives blood sugar too low.
- Design and optimize non-peptide ligands, small molecules rather than protein chains, that activate the insulin receptor, using computational design and drug development techniques.
- Test whether targeting the insulin receptor's distinct binding sites with separately designed ligands yields receptor modulators suitable for oral administration and glycemic control in diabetes.
More about the research
Far less is known about molecules that only partly switch the receptor on, or that block it. Two projects here work from both ends of that dial: one builds blockers for a disease of too much insulin signaling, the other builds non-peptide activators for diabetes, where signaling is too weak.
Why it matters
Blocking the insulin receptor could become a treatment approach for congenital hyperinsulinism, a condition where excess insulin drives blood sugar dangerously low. On the activating side, non-peptide molecules that switch the receptor on might allow blood-sugar control without injections, a more convenient option for the many people living with diabetes. Both lines could also clarify how insulin signaling is turned on and off.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Show-Ling Shyng
Oregon Health & Science University, OR·Biophysics
Solve cryo-EM structures of pancreatic, cardiac and vascular KATP channels in closed and open states, to build a complete set showing how the channels open in response to ATP and ADP.
Laura Bohn
Northeastern University, MA·Pharmacology
Define the whole-animal pharmacology of functionally selective CB1 agonists, compounds that activate only some of the receptor's signaling routes, measuring cardinal signs of CB1 activation, suppression of nerve-injury pain, tolerance and physical dependence.
Kamran Atabai
University of California-San Francisco, CA·Physiology
Determine the cellular mechanism by which insulin moves MFGE8, a secreted protein, through the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi to the muscle cell surface, where it binds the αvβ5 integrin.
The school
Stanford University: 87 labs on PI Pages, $1.6B a year on research, 739 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.