Gebhard Schertler

Prof. Gebhard F. X. Schertler is investigating G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). When the group was located at the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Biology (Cambridge, UK), they focused on 3D structural analysis by X-ray and electron crystallography and solved the atomic structures of GPCRs (rhodopsin, beta adrenergic receptors). With this expertise, Schertler successfully revealed the mechanisms of light-induced rhodopsin activation and agonist-binding to a GPCR. Since his move to the PSI in 2009, Schertler established an interdisciplinary research group on GPCRs, including crystallography, electron microscopy, NMR, biophysics and bioinformatics and a platform for protein expression/purification/crystallization. He is also responsible for biological applications on the Swiss Free Electron Laser (SwissFEL) and is involved in the experimental setup and design of biology beamlines for optimization of both biomolecular nanocrystallography and biological X-FEL imaging. He is heading the Biomolecular Research Laboratory at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and he is Professor for structural biology at the ETH in Zürich, Switzerland