Principal Investigator

Jordi Bonaventura graduated in Chemistry (2004) and Biochemistry (2006) by the University of Barcelona. He obtained his Ph.D. in 2012, under the supervision of Drs. Vicent Casadó and Rafael Franco, for the study of the molecular interactions between receptors of adenosine, dopamine and cannabinoids. In 2012 he joined Dr. Sergi Ferré’ lab (National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD, US) as a postdoctoral fellow, where continued studying GPCR function and interaction. Later, he joined Dr. Mike Michaelides’ lab (2017) where he developed and applied chemogenetic (i.e. DREADD, PSAM) and optogenetic tools (i.e. ChRERa) and multiplexed them with PET imaging in an effort to exploit its translational potential to tackle neuropsychiatric challenges where classical pharmacology could not reach. In 2021, he joined the Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics as a Ramon y Cajal Investigator (tenure-track researcher) where his research focuses on studying molecular mechanisms of reward and pain. Complete list of publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=x0hVzyQAAAAJ&hl