Congratulations to Olivia DePasquale on the acceptance of her first first-author paper, “The Orphan Receptor GPR151: Discovery, Expression, and Emerging Biological Significance,” published in ACS Chemical Neuroscience. This timely review was written with key support from co-authors Chris O’Brien and Baila Gordon, who worked together over the past year to bring the paper to life.

The paper provides a comprehensive review of GPR151, a little-understood receptor found primarily in the brain’s habenula, spinal cord, and sensory neurons. GPR151 is thought to play a critical role in regulating pain, addiction, and mood, making it a promising target for future therapies aimed at treating chronic pain and substance use disorders. Olivia’s work synthesizes current research on GPR151’s structure, function, and potential as a drug target—laying important groundwork for the field.

Well done, team!