
Ryan Hibbs, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Endowed Title Effie Marie Cain Scholar in Medical Research
Department Neuroscience | Biophysics
Graduate Programs Molecular Biophysics, Neuroscience
Biography
Ryan Hibbs graduated from Whitman College, a small liberal arts college in Washington State, with a combined degree in Chemistry/Biochemistry. During doctoral research at the University of California, San Diego, he studied ligand specificity and conformational changes in an ion channel ligand binding domain under the supervision of Dr. Palmer Taylor (Department of Pharmacology). As a post-doctoral fellow, he pursued structural and functional studies of ligand-gated ion channels in the laboratory of Dr. Eric Gouaux (HHMI/Vollum Institute). He joined the faculty in the Departments of Neuroscience (primary) and Biophysics (secondary) in 2012.
The Hibbs laboratory is pursuing atomic-scale mechanisms of synaptic proteins, with a current focus on ligand-gated ion channel structure and function. We employ a multidisciplinary approach encompassing molecular biology, protein biochemistry, pharmacology, electrophysiology, x-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy.
Education
- Undergraduate
- Whitman College (2000), Chemistry
- Graduate School
- University of California-San D (2006)
Research Interest
- Ion channel structure-function
- Membrane protein structural biology
- Nervous system autoimmune disease
- Neuropharmacology
- Sensory receptor evolution
Publications
Featured Publications
- Structural mechanisms of GABAA receptor autoimmune encephalitis.
- Noviello CM, Kreye J, Teng J, Prüss H, Hibbs RE, Cell 2022 Jul 185 14 2469-2477.e13
- Structural mechanism of muscle nicotinic receptor desensitization and block by curare.
- Rahman MM, Basta T, Teng J, Lee M, Worrell BT, Stowell MHB, Hibbs RE, Nat Struct Mol Biol 2022 Mar
- Structure and gating mechanism of the a7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.
- Noviello CM, Gharpure A, Mukhtasimova N, Cabuco R, Baxter L, Borek D, Sine SM, Hibbs RE, Cell 2021 Mar
- Shared structural mechanisms of general anaesthetics and benzodiazepines.
- Kim JJ, Gharpure A, Teng J, Zhuang Y, Howard RJ, Zhu S, Noviello CM, Walsh RM, Lindahl E, Hibbs RE, Nature 2020 Sep
- Structure of the Native Muscle-type Nicotinic Receptor and Inhibition by Snake Venom Toxins.
- Rahman MM, Teng J, Worrell BT, Noviello CM, Lee M, Karlin A, Stowell MHB, Hibbs RE, Neuron 2020 Jun 106 6 952-962.e5
- Agonist Selectivity and Ion Permeation in the a3?4 Ganglionic Nicotinic Receptor.
- Gharpure A, Teng J, Zhuang Y, Noviello CM, Walsh RM, Cabuco R, Howard RJ, Zaveri NT, Lindahl E, Hibbs RE, Neuron 2019 Aug
- Structure of a human synaptic GABAA receptor
- Zhu S, Noviello CM, Teng J, Walsh RM Jr, Kim JJ, Hibbs RE. Nature 2018 July
- Structural principles of distinct assemblies of the human a4?2 nicotinic receptor.
- Walsh RM, Roh SH, Gharpure A, Morales-Perez CL, Teng J, Hibbs RE Nature 2018 May
- X-ray structure of the human a4?2 nicotinic receptor.
- Morales-Perez CL, Noviello CM, Hibbs RE Nature 2016 Oct
- Manipulation of Subunit Stoichiometry in Heteromeric Membrane Proteins.
- Morales-Perez CL, Noviello CM, Hibbs RE Structure 2016 Mar
Honors & Awards
- Norman Hackerman Award in Chemical Research
The Welch Foundation (2022) - Outstanding Alumnus Award
UC San Diego (2019) - Alzheimer's Disease Research Grant
Friends of the Alzheimer's Disease Center (2014) - Klingenstein-Simons Award in the Neurosciences
(2014) - McKnight Scholar Award
(2014) - Chemical Research Grant
The Welch Foundation (2013) - NIH Pathway to Independence Award
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (2012) - NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Postdoctoral Fellowship
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (2007) - Roland Robbins Pharmacology Dissertation Award
PhD Thesis, UC San Diego (2006)