Rate My Professor Michael Robertson

Michael Robertson serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Baylor College of Medicine. His research centers on biochemistry and biophysics, particularly structure-based drug discovery involving G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Utilizing cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and computational biophysics, Robertson investigates GPCR conformational dynamics, ligand efficacy, and interactions with G proteins and arrestins. He is listed as faculty in the graduate programs for Chemical, Physical & Structural Biology and Quantitative & Computational Biosciences at Baylor College of Medicine.

Robertson earned his Ph.D. in 2017 from Yale University, working in the laboratory of William L. Jorgensen. He then pursued postdoctoral training from 2018 to 2023 in the Skiniotis Laboratory at Stanford University School of Medicine. Transitioning to Baylor College of Medicine thereafter, his contributions have garnered over 6,000 citations according to Google Scholar. Key publications include "Improved peptide and protein torsional energetics with the OPLS-AA force field" (Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation, 2015; 977 citations), "Structure of a signaling cannabinoid receptor 1-G protein complex" (Cell, 2019; 473 citations), "Structure of a hallucinogen-activated Gq-coupled 5-HT2A serotonin receptor" (Cell, 2020; 531 citations), "Structure of the neurotensin receptor 1 in complex with β-arrestin 1" (Nature, 2020; 415 citations), and "Structure of the M2 muscarinic receptor–β-arrestin complex in a lipid nanodisc" (Nature, 2020; 392 citations). Recent works feature "MIC: A deep learning tool for assigning ions and waters in cryo-EM and crystal structures" (Nature Communications, 2025) and studies on mu-opioid receptor-Gi complex activation and GPCR fiducials for visualization. These efforts advance mechanistic insights into GPCR signaling, pivotal for therapeutic development targeting this superfamily of receptors.