Professor Dr. Sudarshan Rajagopal

Biography

Sudarshan Rajagopal is an Associate Professor at Duke University, focusing on a range of academic interests as a physician-scientist. His research primarily involves G protein-coupled receptor signaling, inflammation, and vascular disease. He plays a vital role as Co-Director of the Duke Pulmonary Vascular Disease Center and has an extensive clinical focus on pulmonary vascular disease. His research spans multiple spectrums including clinical research on pulmonary vascular disease, translational research in cardiovascular disease, and basic science investigations into receptor signaling. Rajagopal's work uncovers how G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which are crucial transmembrane proteins with over 800 members in the human genome, can regulate inflammation and influence vascular disease. This includes studying the phenomenon of biased agonism in GPCRs, where ligands can activate selective pathways, pointing to novel therapeutic avenues. His lab employs various innovative approaches such as pharmacological assays and advanced phosphoproteomics combined with single cell RNA sequencing to probe the underlying mechanisms of these signaling pathways. He obtained both his Ph.D. and M.D. from the University of Chicago and completed several clinical and research fellowships at Duke University.

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