Patrick Brennan

Mentor: Michael Lerch, PhD
Year entered MCW: 2019
Previous Education: BS, Biochemistry, University of St. Thomas, 2018

In the Lerch lab, I am working to elucidate the effect that endogenous modulators have on ligand-mediated activation of GPCR signaling pathways. In this work, I am focused on two distinct types of post-translational modifications in the beta 2 adrenergic receptor, namely glycosylation on the extracellular surface and palmitoylation at the cytoplasmic surface of the receptor. I use a variety of biophysical approaches to investigate the effects of these post-translational modifications on the conformational landscape of the receptor, including DEER (double electron–electron resonance) and continuous wave EPR spectroscopy. Through these studies, we will determine the effects of these post-translational modifications on the structure and functional dynamics of the beta 2 adrenergic receptor and their role in biased signal transduction.