Terry Hébert

Research in my lab is centered broadly around the theme of G protein-coupled signal transduction systems. These signalling systems are activated by agonists that bind to G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) leading to the regulation of effector proteins (e.g. enzymes and ion channels) by a transducer. We are interested in 1) basic mechanisms of how these signalling systems are wired, 2) novel signalling complexes and pathways associated with alternative subcellular localization of GPCRs and 3) the roles that these architectural features of signalling complex design might play in cardiac disease with a particular emphasis on congenital heart disease. More recently, my group has also become interested in how novel allosteric regulators of these receptors might be developed and tested, here with a focus on inflammatory mediators, their receptors and their roles in health and disease. I have also been investigating basic mechanisms of GPCR regulation, developing functional assays amenable to scaling up and for use as screens for novel modulators of the interactions within GPCR signalling complexes. All of the projects are currently funded.