Our studies focus on the structure and function of important drug targets, such as GPCRs. The key aims of our center are as follows: (1) to solve the 3D-structures of drug targets involved in severe human diseases and to illustrate the recognition model between these targets and their ligands and downstream signaling molecules; (2) to discover small molecular modulators of these targets, to study their activities with disease models, and to generate lead compounds for SAR evaluation and drug development.

After ten years of development, our center has been of  international significance in GPCRs research. We have also established the first-class structural biology technology platform on drug targets.

Combining with the superior research direction of the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and focusing on the strategic requirements of "discovering new drugs", the center will use drug target structures related to major diseases to make important contributions to the research of new drugs for human beings.