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Arun Kumar Shukla

Arun Kumar Shukla is an Indian structural biologist and bioengineer whose research focuses on the structural and functional study of cell-surface receptors, particularly G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). He is associated with the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, where he leads a research group studying receptor signalling mechanisms.

Key facts

Name Arun Kumar Shukla
Nationality Indian
Field Structural biology, bioengineering
Research focus G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), receptor signalling
Affiliation Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

Background

Shukla's scientific work lies at the intersection of structural biology, biochemistry, and cell signalling. His group investigates how receptors on the cell surface recognise external signals and transmit them across the membrane through interactions with intracellular partners such as G proteins and arrestins. Such studies have implications for understanding pharmacology and for the design of new therapeutics, since GPCRs constitute one of the largest classes of drug targets.

Research contributions

His research interests include:

  • The molecular architecture and dynamics of G protein-coupled receptors.
  • The role of β-arrestins in receptor signalling, trafficking, and desensitisation.
  • Biased agonism, in which different ligands acting on the same receptor selectively trigger distinct downstream pathways.
  • Application of structural and biophysical techniques, including X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy, to receptor–effector complexes.

Significance

By contributing to the mechanistic understanding of GPCR signalling, Shukla's work feeds into a broader effort across structural biology to translate molecular insight into pharmacological strategies. The study of arrestin-mediated signalling and biased ligands has been one of the active themes in the field over recent years.

References