On Wednesday, 17th of June, CCMAR Seminar will feature Dr. Luis Yañez-Guerra, Principal Investigator and Lecturer in Pharmacology and Evolution at the University of Southampton.

In this session titled “Prebilaterian Origin of Monoaminergic Signalling System”, Luis Yañez-Guerra will explore how GPCR deorphanisation in the placozoan Trichoplax adhaerens reveals an unexpectedly ancient origin of monoaminergic signalling.

Combining receptor pharmacology, phylogenetics, metabolomics, and behavioural assays, the seminar will present evidence challenging the long-held view that monoamine signalling systems emerged only in bilaterian animals. The research sheds new light on how chemical communication evolved in early animals, before the appearance of complex nervous systems.

Drawing from his work on the evolutionary origins of animal signalling systems, Luis will discuss how studying simple organisms can help reconstruct the emergence of neurotransmitters and the foundations of nervous system evolution.

About the Speaker

Dr Luis Yañez-Guerra is a Lecturer in Pharmacology and Evolution at the University of Southampton. His research focuses on the evolutionary origins of animal signalling systems, with particular emphasis on G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), neurotransmitter evolution, and the origins of nervous systems in early-diverging animals.