Julyan Tan
Julyan Tan is a PhD candidate in the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Western Australia, based at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research. Julyan’s research focuses on novel receptor heteromers and their role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are one of the broadest drug target classes, with 30-40% of all approved drugs targeting some component of the GPCR signalling pathway. Interestingly, GPCRs have shown the ability to form complexes with other receptors, both GPCRs and non-GPCRs, called heteromers. These receptor heteromers sometimes exhibit distinct biochemical properties, such as inducing changes to the receptors’ pharmacology, intracellular signalling, and trafficking profiles. Given the established role of many GPCRs in atherosclerosis pathogenesis, such as inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, receptor heteromers present us with a fascinating avenue of research.
Julyan’s PhD revolves around establishing the existence of novel heteromers, and investigating the pharmacological and pathophysiological effects of these heteromers forming between the receptors that are most relevant to atherosclerosis. This may then help us build a pharmacological profile of these heteromers, and aids further research in identifying potential drug targets for the treatment of atherosclerosis.
Supervisors
Dr. Liz Johnstone, Prof. Kevin Pfleger
Contact
Keywords: atherosclerosis | receptor heteromer | GPCR | pharmacology | intracellular signalling | trafficking