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Pharmacologist named visitor to British Pharmacological Society

15 November 2006

Professor Arthur Christopoulos has been selected as the 2007 ASCEPT Visitor to the British Pharmacological Society..

Professor Arthur Christopoulos, of Monash University's Department of Pharmacology, has been selected by the Council of the Australian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists (ASCEPT) as the 2007 ASCEPT Visitor to the British Pharmacological Society.

Professor Christopoulos said he was truly honoured and delighted to be given an award that recognises outstanding achievements in his field.

The prize, inaugurated in 1989, is awarded every two years to an eminent pharmacologist and member of ASCEPT in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the society and the discipline.

"To be recognised in this manner by the leading society representing our discipline in Australia means a lot to me," Professor Christopoulos said.

"Previous recipients of this award include some of this country's most outstanding pharmacology leaders. I am proud to have been able to contribute to the society."

The award entails the delivery of a plenary lecture at the Life Sciences 2007 meeting in Glasgow next year. It also involves British Pharmacological Society-hosted visits to a number of pharmacology research centres throughout the United Kingdom.

Professor Christopoulos was a councillor of ASCEPT 2003 -- 2004, and was Chair of the ASCEPT Scientific Advisory Committee during 2004 -- 2005.

Professor Christopoulos and his collaborator Professor Patrick Sexton recently joined Monash University as directors of the new Drug Discovery Biology Laboratory.

Their research focuses on a superfamily of proteins know as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which represent the most prominent class of drug targets.

Their team is particularly interested in exploring new ways to target drugs to GPCRs in an effort to achieve greater selectivity of drug action.

The research has generated significant interest within the pharmaceutical industry, including current collaborations with GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Eli Lilly.