The mission of the Van Rijn lab is to uncover new strategies to treat psychiatric and neurological disorders. We specifically investigate the heavily co-morbid triad of ​drug use disorders, chronic pain disorders and mood disorders. Our primary target, the ​delta opioid receptor, is involved in the neuropharmacology of all three disorders and thus offers an exciting novel approach to treat these disorders. The Van Rijn lab covers all aspects of preclinical drug development including drug synthesis, drug screening, pharmacological characterization both in vitro and in vivo. We also perform mechanistic studies to improve our understanding of the etiology of these disorders.

News - 2023

October 16th, 2023 - Our manuscript describing a novel cellular assay to measure beta-arrestin isoform recruitment in real-time in the same cell simultaneously, has been accepted for publication in Frontiers of Pharmacology

April 7th, 2023 - Our review on current understanding of the mechanism of action of delta opioid receptor-induced seizures has been accepted in Neuropharmacology and is already available online. Great effort by former graduate student and now Dr. Arryn Blaine to digest the relevant literature.

February 24th, 2023 - A follow up paper of a collaborative project with the Riley Lab characterizing akuamma alkaloid derivatives titled Modified Akuamma Alkaloids with Increased Potency at the Mu-opioid Receptor​ was published in J Med Chem 

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

April 7th, 2023 - Our review on current understanding of the mechanism of action of delta opioid receptor-induced seizures has been accepted in Neuropharmacology and is already available online. Great effort by former graduate student and now Dr. Arryn Blaine to digest the relevant literature.

February 24th, 2023 - A follow up paper of a collaborative project with the Riley Lab characterizing akuamma alkaloid derivatives titled Modified Akuamma Alkaloids with Increased Potency at the Mu-opioid Receptor​ was published in J Med Chem ​
Disclaimer of opinion
The information, statements and opinions presented on the the Van Rijn lab website are solely expressed by Dr. van Rijn and do not necessarily represent views held by Purdue University.