Research Interests

Caroline collaborates with both basic science researchers and clinicians to advance understanding of GPCR signalling in endocrine and metabolic disease. These encompass three main themes.

Signalling of GPCRs involved in appetite regulation

The Gorvin group investigates fundamental mechanisms by which metabolic GPCRs signal within cells. Studies include: understanding how accessory proteins interact with GPCRs to modify their signalling and internalisation; and investigating how receptor dimerisation and cross-talk influence signal dynamics.

GPCRs involved in bone metabolism

In collaboration with researchers at the University of Southern Denmark, Dr Gorvin’s research focusses on understanding how GPCRs contribute to bone metabolism. Current research areas include: the effect of the hormones GIP and GLP-1 on human bone cell activity and defining the roles of orphan GPCRs in osteoclast activity.

Calcium-sensing receptor signalling & trafficking

Dr Gorvin has expertise in calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) signalling and the contribution of receptor mutations to disorders of calcium homeostasis. Her research has: defined new paradigms for CaSR signalling by spatiotemporal G-protein pathways; described new disease-biased CaSR signalling pathways; repurposed allosteric modulators for patients with hyper/hypocalcaemia; and contributed to informing clinical guidelines for genetic testing in hypercalcaemia.

This research combines microscopy techniques (including single molecule imaging) with signalling assays (e.g. BRET, HTRF, TR-FRET, AlphaScreen and reporter assays) in primary and immortalised cell-lines. The Gorvin group is happy to provide expertise and collaborate with any researchers that have an interest in membrane proteins, cell signalling or trafficking.