Jonathan A. Javitch
· Lieber Professor of Experimental Therapeutics (in Psychiatry), Professor of Pharmacology (in the Center for Molecular Recognition and in Physiology and Cellular Biophysics)Columbia University · Molecular Pharmacology
Active 1982–2025
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About
Dr. Sabrina Diano earned both her Doctor of Biology and PhD degrees from the University of Naples “Federico II” in Naples, Italy. She moved to Yale University in 1994 to pursue her interest in metabolism regulation, where she was awarded a PhD in Physiology in 1999 based on studies that combined neuroendocrinology and mitochondrial biology to explore the brain’s role in energy and glucose metabolism. She joined the Yale faculty in 2000, rising through the academic ranks before joining Columbia University in September 2020 to lead the Institute of Human Nutrition. Her research investigates how the brain regulates energy balance and glucose homeostasis, employing interdisciplinary methods such as molecular biology, neuroanatomy, biochemistry, electrophysiology, chemogenetics, and behavioral studies in rodent models. Her lab explores how brain cells sense nutrients and communicate metabolic signals, aiming to uncover cellular and molecular mechanisms that enable the brain to maintain metabolic balance and how disruptions contribute to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and related metabolic disorders. Additionally, her current work examines how metabolic dysfunction may contribute to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as psychiatric conditions including anxiety and depression. Dr. Diano’s studies on metabolism regulation have received international recognition, including the Helmholtz Diabetes Award in 2018 and being named a Fellow of the American…
Research topics
- Biochemistry
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Cell biology
- Biophysics
- Pharmacology
- Genetics
- Stereochemistry
- Neuroscience
- Medicine
Selected publications
Single-molecule FRET imaging of GPCR dimers in living cells
Nature Methods · 2021 · 206 citations
Senior authorCorrespondingNature Communications · 2021 · 122 citations
We utilized forebrain organoids generated from induced pluripotent stem cells of patients with a syndromic form of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) with a homozygous protein-truncating mutation in CNTNAP2, to study its effects on embryonic cortical development. Patients with this mutation present with clinical characteristics of brain overgrowth. Patient-derived forebrain organoids displayed an increase in volume and total cell number that is driven by increased neural progenitor proliferation. Si…
Structure of human GABAB receptor in an inactive state
Nature · 2020 · 98 citations
Journal of Medicinal Chemistry · 2021 · 74 citations
with reduced opioid liabilities.
eLife · 2021 · 66 citations
displayed MOR/KOR Gi-partial agonism with diminished arrestin signaling, showed efficient analgesia with attenuated liabilities, including respiratory depression and conditioned place preference and aversion in mice. The findings validate a novel structure-inspired paradigm for achieving beneficial in vivo profiles for analgesia through different mechanisms that include bias, partial agonism, and dual MOR/KOR agonism.
Recent grants
NIH · $2.7M · 2017–2023
NIH · $1.1M · 2019
NIH · $2.7M · 2008
Frequent coauthors
- 366 shared
Lei Shi
National Institutes of Health
- 169 shared
Prashant Donthamsetti
Vanderbilt University
- 165 shared
Thijs Beuming
Schrodinger (United States)
- 160 shared
Amy Hauck Newman
National Institute on Drug Abuse
- 160 shared
Yang Han
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler
- 155 shared
Lihua Duan
Central South University
- 151 shared
Matthias Quick
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
- 121 shared
Mayako Michino
Tri-Institutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute
Labs
Education
M.D.
Columbia University
Ph.D.
Columbia University
Awards & honors
- Lieber Professor of Experimental Therapeutics in Psychiatry
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