Vadim Cherezov

Vadim Cherezov, the Ester Dornsife Chair in Biological Sciences and Professor at the University of Southern California (USC), leads groundbreaking research in membrane protein structure and function. Affiliated with the Bridge Institute, Department of Chemistry, and Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience, his work focuses on GPCRs, ion channels, and transporters—critical targets for drug discovery. His team leverages advanced techniques like Lipidic Cubic Phase (LCP) and Serial Femtosecond Crystallography (SFX) at XFEL facilities to solve high-resolution structures under physiological conditions.

• Institutional Affiliations: Bridge Institute, USC Michelson Center, Department of Chemistry, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
• Key Collaborations: Katritch Lab, Kuhn Lab, NIH, European XFEL.

His research explores the role of lipids in modulating GPCR function, addressing diseases like Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and cancer. By solving the structure of the A_2A adenosine receptor via sulfur SAD phasing at XFEL, Cherezov’s lab demonstrated de novo phasing without heavy atoms. This breakthrough enables structural studies of previously intractable membrane proteins.

Scientific Awards & Grants:

• NIH R01 GM108635, U54 GM094618, U54 GM094599, R01 GM095583
• Science Signaling Breakthroughs of the Year (2014)

Cherezov mentors a dynamic team, including postdocs (e.g., Dong-Gyun Kim), graduate students (e.g., Behnaz Davoudinasab), and alumni (e.g., Benjamin Stauch at Eli Lilly, Nairie Michaelian at Genentech). His lab’s publications span Nature, Science, and Cell, with recent work on Science Advances (2025) addressing ABEL-FRET for GPCR dynamics.