Naomi R Latorraca, PhD

At Stanford University, Dr. Latorraca used long timescale all-atom molecular dynamics simulations in the research group of Prof. Ron Dror to determine mechanisms underlying the function and regulation of G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) and transporters. Her work in the Dror lab revealed structural determinants for the selective activation of downstream proteins by GPCRs, enabling the rational design of ligands with the potential to reduce harmful side effects.

As a Miller postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, Naomi worked with Profs. Susan Marqusee and Ehud Isacoff to develop frameworks for integrating experimental and computational measurements of GPCR activation. Those studies, which relied on hydrogen–deuterium exchange/mass spectrometry and single-molecule fluorescence in addition to biomolecular simulation, provide a structural explanation for how members of a GPCR subfamily, the metabotropic glutamate receptors, can differentially respond to a broad range of glutamate signals in the nervous system.

Her ongoing work seeks to combine biophysical and computational methods to dissect mechanisms of membrane protein allosteric regulation, providing new strategies for the design of novel therapeutics to target a wide variety of diseases.