Vassilios Papadopoulos, DPharm, PhD, Professor, Dept of Medicine; Canada Research Chair in Biochemical Pharmacology; Dr. Phil Gold Chair in Medicine

Research in my laboratory focuses on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for the initiation and maintenance of steroid biosynthesis in the gonads, adrenal, and brain, in health and disease. We also study the regulation of steroid biosynthesis, intracellular compartmentalization of cholesterol by hormones, chemicals, drugs and environmental factors. Our goals are (i) to understand the pathophysiology of steroidogenesis, (ii) develop new tools for the treatment of diseases related to elevated or low steroid levels, and (iii) alter subcellular steroid compartmentalization as a means to block disease acquisition and/or progression. In these studies we are using biochemical, pharmacological, and molecular methods as well animal models of disease and human specimens to identify the pathophysiological role of critical components of the steroidogenic pathway. Drug design methods and molecular modeling help us modify existing chemical entities and generate novel ones targeted at key elements of the steroidogenic machinery.