Shaun R. Coughlin MD, PhD

Shaun R. Coughlin served as Director of UCSF’s Cardiovascular Research Institute from 1997-2017. Coughlin’s laboratory at UCSF sought to identify regulatory mechanisms governing cardiovascular biology and disease. The laboratory’s discovery of a thrombin receptor, now known as protease-activated receptor-1 revealed the molecular mechanism by which thrombin, a protease, can function as a signaling molecule to regulate the behavior of platelets and other cells like hormones do. The laboratory's characterization of PAR1 and other members of the PAR family led to a greater understanding of how cells sense tissue injury and trigger responses that stop bleeding and promote inflammation and repair. Dr. Coughlin joined Novartis in 2017 to help lead the development of medicines to prevent, treat or reverse important cardiovascular diseases.