Georgios Skiniotis Lab

Cell surface receptors are essential components of intracellular communication. These membrane-bound proteins transmit extracellular signals to the cell interior, responding to a variety of extracellular cues including light, small molecules and ions, peptides, lipids, and proteins. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a large, diverse group of cell surface receptors essential for human physiology and, given their distinct signaling roles, make attractive targets for therapeutic interventions. Our lab is interested in elucidating the structural and mechanistic aspects of signal recognition and propagation by cell surface receptors, namely GPCRs and their interacting proteins. 

Dr. Skiniotis is a structural biologist who received his PhD from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany. He trained as a postdoctoral fellow, focusing on structural biology and electron microscopy, at EMBL-Heidelberg before being named a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation postdoctoral fellow and continuing his training at Harvard Medical School. In 2024, Dr. Skiniotis joined St. Jude as a Member in the Department of Structural Biology, an endowed chair of Structural Cell Biology and Founding Director of the Center of Excellence for Structural Cell Biology. His research employs structural approaches to understand the molecular mechanisms driving intracellular communication via transmembrane receptor signaling. Of particular interest is GPCRs and their partner proteins. Dr. Skiniotis employs a variety of structural approaches, such as cryo-electron microscopy and cryo-electron tomography, to study these proteins and their associated physiological processes. 

Dr. Skiniotis has received numerous awards and honors, including the White House’s Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the Earl and Thressa Stadtman Scholar Award and was named a Pew Scholar in biomedical sciences. He is also a valued contributor to the GPCR Collaborative, a St. Jude Research Collaborative designed to bring together global thought leaders to answer complex scientific questions with transformative potential. 

Affiliations