Carlsson lab

Jens Carlsson’s group is an international team of researchers that focuses on structure-based modelling of proteins, with a particular interest in drug design. Learn more about our research on the group’s website: www.carlssonlab.org.
Popular science presentation
Our research focuses on using computer simulations to study receptors and enzymes - some of the molecular machines of life. A large number of three-dimensional structures of these proteins are available, making it possible to simulate how they function at the molecular level and how they are affected by drugs. Our methods and the molecules we discover can contribute to the development of new drugs.
Research projects
The goal of our research is to improve atomic-level understanding of protein-ligand interactions using computational modelling. By combining physics-based methods (molecular dynamics simulations and molecular docking) with machine learning approaches, we investigate how small molecules interact with proteins to modulate their function. Our work focuses on G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and enzymes involved in cancer and infections, with the goal of identifying strategies to accelerate drug discovery.
Group members
Publications
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Part of BMC Biology, 2026
- DOI for Computational design of constitutively active mutants of Dopamine D2 receptor inspired by ligand-independent activation mechanisms
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Part of Nature Communications, 2026
- DOI for Docking of virtual libraries identifies small-molecule agonists of neurotensin receptors with analgesic activity
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Part of Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, p. 6045-6056, 2026
- DOI for Improving AlphaFold2 Performance in Virtual Screens Targeting GPCRs by Enhancing Binding-Site Conformational Sampling
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Molecular mechanisms of native ligand selectivity in catecholamine G protein-coupled receptors
Part of Nature Communications, 2026
- DOI for Molecular mechanisms of native ligand selectivity in catecholamine G protein-coupled receptors
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Structural basis for uracil removal from DNA by human SMUG1
Part of Nature Communications, 2026
- DOI for Structural basis for uracil removal from DNA by human SMUG1
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Structure-guided allosteric modulation of the delta opioid receptor
Part of Nature Communications, 2026
- DOI for Structure-guided allosteric modulation of the delta opioid receptor
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Biodiversity2Drugs-Renaissance of exploring nature-derived peptides for GPCR ligand discovery
Part of British Journal of Pharmacology, p. 3691-3694, 2025
- DOI for Biodiversity2Drugs-Renaissance of exploring nature-derived peptides for GPCR ligand discovery
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Part of ACS Chemical Biology, p. 401-411, 2025
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GRK-biased adrenergic agonists for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity
Part of Cell, 2025
- DOI for GRK-biased adrenergic agonists for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity
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Part of ACS Chemical Neuroscience, p. 2295-2311, 2025
- DOI for Identification of a Lipid-Exposed Extrahelical Binding Site for Positive Allosteric Modulators of the Dopamine D2 Receptor
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Rapid Traversal of Ultralarge Chemical Space using Machine Learning Guided Docking Screens
Part of Nature Computational Science, p. 301-312, 2025
- DOI for Rapid Traversal of Ultralarge Chemical Space using Machine Learning Guided Docking Screens
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Structure-based discovery of positive allosteric modulators of the A1 adenosine receptor
Part of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025
- DOI for Structure-based discovery of positive allosteric modulators of the A1 adenosine receptor
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Ultra-large virtual screening unveils potent agonists of the neuromodulatory orphan receptor GPR139
Part of Nature Communications, 2025
- DOI for Ultra-large virtual screening unveils potent agonists of the neuromodulatory orphan receptor GPR139
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Virtual Fragment Screening for DNA Repair Inhibitors in Vast Chemical Space
Part of Nature Communications, 2025
- DOI for Virtual Fragment Screening for DNA Repair Inhibitors in Vast Chemical Space
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Part of Molecules, 2024
- DOI for 2-Aryladenine Derivatives as a Potent Scaffold for Adenosine Receptor Antagonists: The 6-Morpholino Derivatives
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Part of Science Advances, 2024
- DOI for AlphaFold accelerated discovery of psychotropic agonists targeting the trace amine-associated receptor 1
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Structure-based virtual screening of vast chemical space as a starting point for drug discovery
Part of Current opinion in structural biology, 2024
- DOI for Structure-based virtual screening of vast chemical space as a starting point for drug discovery
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Design of Drug Efficacy Guided by Free Energy Simulations of the β2-Adrenoceptor
Part of Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2023
- DOI for Design of Drug Efficacy Guided by Free Energy Simulations of the β2-Adrenoceptor
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Part of Molecules, 2023
- DOI for Development and Characterization of Novel Selective, Non-Basic Dopamine D-2 Receptor Antagonists for the Treatment of Schizophrenia
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Part of Nature Communications, 2023
- DOI for Establishing mammalian GLUT kinetics and lipid composition influences in a reconstituted-liposome system
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Structure-based virtual screening discovers potent and selective adenosine A1 receptor antagonists
Part of European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2023
- DOI for Structure-based virtual screening discovers potent and selective adenosine A1 receptor antagonists
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Part of Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, p. 3473-3517, 2022
- DOI for Importance of Binding Site Hydration and Flexibility Revealed When Optimizing a Macrocyclic Inhibitor of the Keap1-Nrf2 Protein-Protein Interaction
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Structure-Based Discovery of Negative Allosteric Modulators of the Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5
Part of ACS Chemical Biology, p. 2744-2752, 2022
- DOI for Structure-Based Discovery of Negative Allosteric Modulators of the Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5
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Part of Molecular Neurobiology, p. 5955-5969, 2022
- DOI for The mGlu5 Receptor Protomer-Mediated Dopamine D2 Receptor Trans-Inhibition Is Dependent on the Adenosine A2A Receptor Protomer: Implications for Parkinson's Disease
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Part of Journal of the American Chemical Society, p. 2905-2920, 2022
- DOI for Ultralarge Virtual Screening Identifies SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Inhibitors with Broad-Spectrum Activity against Coronaviruses
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A practical guide to large-scale docking
Part of Nature Protocols, p. 4799-4832, 2021
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Part of PloS Computational Biology, 2021
- DOI for Can molecular dynamics simulations improve the structural accuracy and virtual screening performance of GPCR models?
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Fragment-based design of selective GPCR ligands guided by free energy simulations
Part of Chemical Communications, p. 12305-12308, 2021
- DOI for Fragment-based design of selective GPCR ligands guided by free energy simulations
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Part of eLIFE, 2021
- DOI for Identification of ligand-specific G protein-coupled receptor states and prediction of downstream efficacy via data-driven modeling
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Ligand design by targeting a binding site water
Part of Chemical Science, p. 960-968, 2021
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Positive allosteric mechanisms of adenosine A(1) receptor-mediated analgesia
Part of Nature, p. 571-576, 2021
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Structure-Guided Design of G-Protein-Coupled Receptor Polypharmacology
Part of Angewandte Chemie International Edition, p. 18022-18030, 2021
- DOI for Structure-Guided Design of G-Protein-Coupled Receptor Polypharmacology
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Docking Finds GPCR Ligands in Dark Chemical Matter
Part of Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, p. 613-620, 2020
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Energy Landscapes Reveal Agonist Control of G Protein-Coupled Receptor Activation via Microswitches
Part of Biochemistry, p. 880-891, 2020
- DOI for Energy Landscapes Reveal Agonist Control of G Protein-Coupled Receptor Activation via Microswitches
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GPCRmd uncovers the dynamics of the 3D-GPCRome
Part of Nature Methods, p. 777-787, 2020
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Part of PloS Computational Biology, 2020
- DOI for Performance of virtual screening against GPCR homology models: Impact of template selection and treatment of binding site plasticity
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Part of ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, p. 361-370, 2020
- DOI for The European Research Network on Signal Transduction (ERNEST): Toward a Multidimensional Holistic Understanding of G Protein-Coupled Receptor Signaling
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Part of Nature Communications, 2019
- DOI for A conserved molecular switch in Class F receptors regulates receptor activation and pathway selection
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Part of Molecular Neurobiology, p. 7038-7048, 2018
- DOI for Disruption of A2AR-D2R Heteroreceptor Complexes After A2AR Transmembrane 5 Peptide Administration Enhances Cocaine Self-Administration in Rats
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Docking Screens for Dual Inhibitors of Disparate Drug Targets for Parkinson's Disease
Part of Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, p. 5269-5278, 2018
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FZD(5) is a G alpha(q)-coupled receptor that exhibits the functional hallmarks of prototypical GPCRs
Part of Science Signaling, 2018
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Part of Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2018
- DOI for Mapping the Interface of a GPCR Dimer: A Structural Model of the A(2A) Adenosine and D-2 Dopamine Receptor Heteromer
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Part of Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling, p. 350-361, 2018
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Scavenging of superoxide by a membrane-bound superoxide oxidase
Part of Nature Chemical Biology, p. 788-793, 2018
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Part of ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, p. 119-133, 2018
- DOI for Structural Characterization of Agonist Binding to Protease-Activated Receptor 2 through Mutagenesis and Computational Modeling
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Structure-based screening for GPCR ligands from fragment and lead-like chemical space
Part of Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society, 2018
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Structure-guided discovery of adenosine receptor ligands
Part of Purinergic Signalling Purinergic Signalling, 2018
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Agonist-induced dimer dissociation as a macromolecular step in G protein-coupled receptor signaling
Part of Nature Communications, 2017
- DOI for Agonist-induced dimer dissociation as a macromolecular step in G protein-coupled receptor signaling
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Part of Scientific Reports, 2017
- DOI for Fragment optimization for GPCRs by molecular dynamics free energy calculations: Probing druggable subpockets of the A(2A) adenosine receptor binding site
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Part of Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, p. 8160-8169, 2017