Rewiring Possibility: Dr. Kirill Martemyanov Shares Vision for the Miller School Dept. of Physiology and Biophysics
The new chair is building a dynamic, collaborative team and says “breakthroughs are all about the people in my lab and dozens of contributors and collaborations across institutions.”
Kirill Martemyanov, Ph.D., has been named the new chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and in that role, understands what lies ahead. He says there is a collaborative nature in contemporary research and he is looking to organize the department, and catalyze scientific discovery, accordingly.
“Sometimes the perception is, ‘This one person discovered that.’ That’s not true anymore in modern science,” Dr. Martemyanov said. “Breakthroughs are all about the people in my lab and dozens of contributors and collaborations across institutions.”
As he steps into his new role, Dr. Martemyanov is using that ethos – it’s us, not me – to build a program with expertise in neuroscience, biophysics and physiology and uses advanced tools like neural imaging and computational modeling to produce significant work that ultimately benefits patients.
“Dr. Martemyanov’s mindset toward collaboration matches with our team science approach to all research at the Miller School,” said Henri R. Ford, M.D., M.H.A., dean and chief academic officer of the Miller School of Medicine. “In particular, his focus within the neurosciences augments our strength and helps propel the university’s investment in that area.”
From Molecular Signals to Medical Solutions
Dr. Martemyanov’s research prior to arriving in Miami centered on G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), the molecular “antennas” that allow cells to detect and respond to their environment.
“Think of them as detectors for anything,” he said. “We use them to detect light, smell and the chemical universe, in general. Our cells communicate through these systems, sending and receiving chemical messages.”
His lab has explored how these receptors function in the central nervous system, particularly in the retina and brain. The implications are vast, and Dr. Martemyanov’s work with GPCRs has advanced our understanding of conditions as disparate as blindness, epilepsy, depression, pain and addiction.
If some investigators follow a more translational, clinical angle, great. They have a unique perspective. Others might focus on atomic-level details and really figuring out basic biology. Let’s get them on a team. We need to bridge gaps and build teams that can tackle complex problems from multiple angles.”
Dr. Kirill Martemyanov
“We’re discovering new elements in these systems. Not just the antennas, but their controls and switches,” he said. “We’re trying to identify new elements and make sense of how they work. The goal is to leverage those elements as targets to come up with a new generation of innovative therapeutics.”
Dipen J. Parekh, M.D., chief executive officer of UHealth—University of Miami Health System and executive vice president for health affairs at the University of Miami, sees enormous potential in Dr. Martemyanov’s research.
“Recruiting a basic science researcher of his stature to come to the university is a real win for everyone,” said Dr. Parekh. “He embraces and demonstrates the excellence of academic medicine in advancing science that directly impacts patients, and in teaching the next generation to carry on that work.”
Discovery to Drug Development
Dr. Martemyanov’s progress is garnering national attention. While at UF Scripps, where he was professor and chair of the Department of Neuroscience, Dr. Martemyanov discovered a gene, PTCHD1, that regulates cholesterol content and influences opioid receptors on the cell surface. The discovery could potentially point to pain treatments that don’t wane over time and don’t require ever-increasing doses that invite opioid dependence. The research was awarded “Invention of the Year” in 2022 by University of Florida, the same year Dr. Martemyanov received the Stein Innovation Award from the Research to Prevent Blindness Foundation for his contributions to understanding the visual system and the diseases that impair it.
In 2021, Dr. Martemyanov’s exploration of the neuroscience of vision was featured in the Scripps’ esteemed “Front Row Lecture Series.” One year prior, Dr. Martemyanov was senior author on a study published in Cell that described how the behavior of GPCR regulators explains why two people can have wildly different responses to the same medication. It’s one of dozens of studies he’s published in high-impact journals like Science, Cell and Nature Neuroscience, reporting discoveries of new receptors and their regulators. Dr. Martemyanov’s work offers a rough template for a departmental road map that marries basic scientific discovery with their translation to improve patient care.
“We’ve identified molecules that are pivotal to processes, like a receptor for the neurotransmitter glycine, which is a major target for depression. We also found new elements in the opioid system involved in pain control and addiction,” he said. “And these discoveries have already led to drug development programs.”
Dr. Martemyanov co-founded two biotechnology companies that are working to transform these discoveries and bring innovative medicines for pain, addiction and depression to the bedside.
“That’s the type of the work we really want to continue at the Miller School, translational work that moves from a target to actually helping patients,” he said.
That goal dovetails perfectly with the Miller School’s emphasis on team science.
“If some investigators follow a more translational, clinical angle, great. They have a unique perspective,” Dr. Martemyanov said. “Others might focus on atomic-level details and really figuring out basic biology. Let’s get them on a team. We need to bridge gaps and build teams that can tackle complex problems from multiple angles.”
Measuring Success
Though he’s just settling into Miami, Dr. Martemyanov already has a layered definition for success. It’s no surprise that definition is holistic, not individual.
“I want to build a community of engaged people who like working together and making scientific discoveries. That’s success,” he said.
Key to that thriving community, Dr. Martemyanov says, is its younger generation, the current and future Miller School students who learn today and use the knowledge their predecessors pass on to build upon their work.
“We want to make sure people who come after us go further, go higher,” he said.
Those two foundational pieces—a creative, dynamic faculty complemented by a student body well-prepared to meet the challenges modern medicine poses—lead inexorably to what Dr. Martemyanov considers a foremost accomplishment.
“If both missions come to fruition, we’re helping patients,” Dr. Martemyanov said. “That’s the ultimate measure of success.”
Tags: Department of Physiology & Biophysics, Dr. Kirill Martemyanov, drug discovery, innovation, weinberger-martemyanov