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2026 Jeffrey L. Benovic Award & Lectureship

On January 7, 2026, the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, hosted the most recent installment of the Jeffrey L. Benovic Award and Lectureship. The 2026 honoree was Dr. Mark von Zastrow, Professor of Psychiatry and Cellular & Molecular Pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco, who delivered an address entitled "The Inner Life of G Protein-Coupled Receptors."

Dr. von Zastrow’s presentation detailed a paradigm shift in our understanding of GPCRs, nature's largest family of signaling receptors. While these receptors were traditionally thought to signal primarily from the cell surface, Dr. von Zastrow’s research highlights a rich "inner life", where receptors undergo ligand-induced conformational activation during their transit through intracellular membrane pathways. He specifically illustrated how this subcellular organization drives functional tolerance to opioids at the neuronal synapse and directs dopamine-mediated neuromodulatory signaling to the nucleus.

From left to right: Steven B. McMahon, PhD Professor & Chair, Philip B. Wedegaertner, PhD, Professor, & Co-Director, Biochemistry, Structural, & Molecular Biology PhD Program, Jeffrey L. Benovic, PhD, Thomas Eakins Endowed Professor - Cancer Biology
Co-Director, T32 Cellular, Biochemical, & Molecular Sciences Training Program, Mark von Zastrow, MD, PhD, Honoree Speaker, Diane E. Merry, PhD, Professor & Vice Chair, Faculty Development & Engagement, Charles P. Scott, PhD, Associate Professor, Vice Chair for Education

This groundbreaking work complements the legacy of the lectureship’s namesake, Dr. Jeffrey L. Benovic, the Thomas Eakins Professor at Jefferson. Over three decades, Dr. Benovic’s research into GPCR kinases and arrestins, initially conducted alongside Nobel Laureate Dr. Robert J. Lefkowitz.  More recent work has been in collaborations with Dr. Brian K. Kobilka, who shared the Nobel Prize with Dr. Lefkowitz in 2012.  Collectively, these studies have provided the fundamental framework for modern biased ligand pharmacology.

The Benovic Lectureship, established by the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2018, continues to honor Dr. Benovic’s remarkable contributions to GPCR research and to both the Sidney Kimmel Medical College and the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. By exploring how receptors signal from endosomes and other intracellular compartments, Dr. von Zastrow’s insights, like those of Dr. Benovic, have advanced our understanding of GPCR function and facilitated the development of superior therapeutic agents for conditions such as heart failure, asthma, and chronic pain.

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