Rate My Professor Mark Wheatley

Professor Mark Wheatley is Professor of Biochemical Pharmacology at Coventry University, appointed in 2018, and serves as Lead for the Pharmacology and Molecular Bioscience Research Theme within the Centre for Health and Life Sciences. He is also a Professor in the Centre for Discoveries in Life Sciences. At the University of Birmingham, he began his academic career as a Lecturer in 1988, was promoted to Chair in Biochemical Pharmacology in 2007, and holds an Honorary Professorship since 1 December 2018. Possessing over 30 years of experience, Wheatley's research specializations centre on the structure and function of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), investigated through multi-disciplinary approaches. His contributions include developing detergent-free solubilisation and purification techniques for membrane proteins, notably using styrene-maleic acid lipid particles (SMALPs). He explores ligand binding and activation mechanisms, receptor interactions such as those with Receptor Activity-Modifying Proteins (RAMPs) and CRF receptors, and structural studies of GPCRs and other membrane proteins within lipid nanoparticles.

Wheatley has built an international reputation, collaborating with multinational pharmaceutical companies due to the therapeutic relevance of his GPCR research. He was elected Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society in 2016. His prolific output encompasses 112 research items, including 83 articles, 14 conference contributions, 6 reviews, and 3 book chapters, amassing 2954 citations and an h-index of 32. Key publications include 'GPCRs in the round: SMA-like copolymers and SMALPs as a platform for investigating GPCRs' (Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 2024), 'Tunable Terpolymer Series for the Systematic Investigation of Membrane Proteins' (Biomacromolecules, 2024), 'Long-Circulating Vasoactive 1,18-Octadecanedioic Acid–Terlipressin Conjugate' (ACS Pharmacology and Translational Science, 2024), and 'Doxorubicin increases G-protein coupled receptor-mediated vasoconstriction in coronary arteries via the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1/2 pathway' (European Journal of Pharmacology, 2025). He edited 'G Protein-Coupled Receptors: Essential Methods' (2010) and has secured funding from BBSRC and Wellcome Trust for GPCR-related projects. Wheatley accepts PhD students.