معرفی
Roger L Papke is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, with joint appointments in the College of Dentistry and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. As a leading authority on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), his work bridges molecular biophysics, pharmacology, and translational medicine, focusing on receptor function in nicotine addiction, pain management, and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.
His research team characterizes nAChR subtypes through ligand-gated ion channel mechanisms, identifying molecular domains involved in neurotransmitter binding and receptor activation. They explore experimental agonists' selectivity for brain receptor subtypes to develop therapeutics for learning/memory impairments in dementia models, with recent work on sulfonium moieties as novel α7 nAChR ligands and stereoisomer-based modulation of α9/α7 receptors.
- Key scientific awards include the R&D 100 Award (2004) and Exemplary Teacher Award (2016)
- He has taught courses like DEN6262 - Principles of Pharmacology (2011-2024) and GMS6560 - Molecules to Man (2018-2021, 2023)
- Current projects investigate therapeutic applications for α7 nAChR modulators in inflammation, neuropathic pain, and neurodegenerative disorders
