Joshua Levitz

This study identifies shared molecular mechanisms by which MRAP2 regulates GPCR signaling and shows that obesity-associated variants disrupt these mechanisms.

The paper introduces a one-step method to create cell-impermeable fluorescent HaloTag substrates for live-cell imaging and super-resolution microscopy.

This study shows MRAP2 interacts with MC3R to enhance its signaling, affecting energy homeostasis and obesity risk.

This paper introduces a photoswitchable opioid agonist that enables optical control of peripheral analgesia with reduced side effects.

This study investigates the structural and dynamic diversity of metabotropic glutamate receptor/beta-arrestin coupling using biophysical and structural methods, revealing new coupling stoichiometries and interaction mechanisms.

This study shows that increasing 2-AG levels reduces opioid reward but not analgesia in mice, suggesting a potential therapeutic strategy for pain treatment.

This paper introduces deuterated azobenzene photoswitches to enhance photopharmacological molecules by improving light sensitivity, photoswitch efficiency, and kinetics.

Chromatin regulators including EZH2, EHMT1/2, and DOT1L establish an epigenetic barrier in human neural progenitors that poises maturation genes and sets the protracted pace of cortical neuron maturation.

The paper shows cholesterol inhibits GPCR-mediated phospholipid scrambling in synthetic vesicles, suggesting a mechanism for maintaining plasma membrane asymmetry.

The paper uses photopharmacology to show that mGluR2 in specific brain projections regulates distinct anxiety-related behaviors.

This study identifies a drug cocktail that accelerates maturation of hPSC-derived neurons and other cell types through pharmacological intervention.

The paper identifies novel regulators of mu opioid receptor signaling and trafficking using proximity labeling and proteomics.

This study identifies subtype-specific differences in transmembrane domain interactions that influence metabotropic glutamate receptor activation.