Arthur Christopoulos, B.Pharm., Ph.D., Monash University’s Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, gave his first presentation as dean at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy on Sept. 19.
Christopoulos spoke to a crowd of more than 50 faculty, staff and students on the topic of “Reciprocal relationships: The role of ‘location’ in new drug discovery.”
“I am delighted to be here as a newly appointed dean. And I’m thrilled that my first presentation as dean is here at UNC,” Christopoulos said. “Every time I come here it feels like home.”
Coincidentally, the day UNC Provost Robert Blouin announced Angela Kashuba’s appointment as dean of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Monash University in Melbourne, Australia also announced the appointment of Christopoulos as their dean.
In his research, Christopoulos focuses on novel paradigms of drug action at G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), the largest class of drug targets, and encompasses molecular and cellular pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, structural and chemical biology, mathematical and computational modeling, and animal models of disease.
Christopoulos has pioneered methods for detection, validation and quantification of GPCR allosteric modulators and biased agonists, which he shared with the audience. And, he’s been involved in the discovery of first-in-class drugs for numerous receptors and made contributions to understanding the structural and chemical basis of drug action.
To date, Christopoulos has over 300 publications, has been invited to give more than 180 presentations, served on the Editorial Board of eight international journals, consults for numerous companies, and is a Councilor of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR).
He is a recipient of the John J. Abel Award from the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, the Rand Medal from the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxiclogists, the British Pharmacological Society (BPS) Gaddum Memorial Award, the IUPHAR Analytical Pharmacology Lecturer, the GSK Award for Research Excellence and a Doctor of Laws from the University of Athens. In 2018, he was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, and of the BPS. Since 2014-present, Thomson Reuters/Clarivate Analytics have named him a Highly Cited Researcher (top 1% worldwide) in Pharmacology and Toxicology.
About his work, Christopoulos shared with the UNC audience, “you never stop learning.”