UC Irvine School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences Welcomes Dr. J. Benita Sjogren, Assistant Professor

Dr. J. Benita Sjogren is one of the newest additions to the UC Irvine School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty! As an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, she offers students her knowledge of molecular biology, pharmacology, biochemistry, drug discovery methodology, and a range of other pharmacy topics. Interested graduate students and postdoctoral researchers can join the Sjogren lab, a place to gain in-depth experience with Dr. Sjogren’s work.

“We want to work with people who can help translate our research findings to disease-relevant in vivo and clinical models,” she stated. “Being a disease-agnostic lab, we are currently pursuing projects related to neurodegenerative diseases and neuroinflammation, as well as cardiovascular implications and several forms of cancer.”

Research in the Sjogren lab centers on Regulator of G protein Signaling (RGS) proteins and their role in the progression of disease.

“We research how RGS proteins are regulated by transcriptional and posttranslational mechanisms, and how they, in turn, regulate signal transduction through the large family of G protein-coupled receptors. We apply a wide range of molecular and cell biology methods to answer questions about how RGS proteins impact a number of disease states,” Dr. Sjogren shared. “Additionally, we study the development of small-molecule modulators of RGS protein function and apply the gained knowledge on RGS protein regulation to develop high-throughput screening assays identifying potential drug leads.”

Dr. Sjogren graduated with her MS in Molecular Biology from Stockholm University. She earned her PhD from the Karolinska Institute in 2008, also in Stockholm, Sweden (her home country). She joined the University of Michigan as a postdoc in their Department of Pharmacology; then, at Michigan State University, Dr. Sjogren was a research assistant professor for several years. In 2017, she began her time at Purdue University as an adjunct assistant professor of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology.

She is enthusiastic about the opportunities that a place in the new School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences can provide. As part of the UCI faculty, she is eager to connect with students, researchers, and her fellow professors and share her research with the Anteater community.