Shane Wright

Shane C. Wright is Assistant Professor at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology. He has a background in cell and molecular biology and receptor pharmacology from the University of Toronto (HBSc), the Université Paris VI (MSc) and Karolinska Institutet (PhD, supervisor: Prof. Gunnar Schulte). Shane received postdoctoral training at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Université de Montréal (supervisor: Prof. Michel Bouvier) and in the section for Personalized Medicine and Drug Development, Karolinska Institutet (supervisor: Prof. Volker Lauschke).

Assistant Professor (Personalized medicine and drug development) – Karolinska Institutet (2025 – Present)
Postdoctoral fellow (Personalized medicine and drug development) – Karolinska Institutet (2020 – 2024)
Postdoctoral fellow (Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine) – Université de Montréal (2019 – 2020)
Doctor of Philosophy (Receptor biology and signaling) – Karolinska Institutet (2013 – 2019)
Master of Science (Cellular and Molecular Biology) – Université Paris VI (2010 – 2012)
Honours Bachelor of Science (Life sciences) – University of Toronto (2005 – 2010)

Shane's research focuses on better understanding the action of drugs on receptors known as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Emerging concepts in receptor pharmacology such as functional selectivity and subcellular signaling have so far not been explored in the context of drug discovery. Employing a biosensor-based approach to map signaling events in fine detail holds great promise for our understanding of drug efficacy and side effects. Combining these tools with patient-derived material will provide much needed insight into the individual variability of patients and the potential for offering better treatments in the future.