Eric Ortlund, PhD


Eric Ortlund, PhD
(he/him)

Professor, Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine

Director of Emory Integrated Metabolomics and Lipidomics Core Facility (EIMLC), Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine

Lab WebsitePubMed PageGoogle ScholarMyNCBI Bibliography

Graduate Programs

  • Full Member - Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology
  • Full Member - Molecular and Systems Pharmacology

Education

PhD, University of South Carolina, 2002

Contact Information

Email: eortlun@emory.edu

Phone: 404-727-5014

Address:
O. Wayne Rollins Research Center, Room 4017 1510 Clifton Road NE Atlanta, GA 30322 1940-001-1AE

Our mission is to make fundamental discoveries relating to hormone signaling, transcriptional control and host-pathogen interactions. We leverage these discoveries to pursue drug design as treatments for viral infections and chronic inflammatory diseases. We use a range of sophisticated biological techniques including cryo-electron microscopy, x-ray crystallography, mass spectrometry, deep mutational scanning and in silico simulations. Our primary research interests include lipid-mediated signaling and transport, development of LRH-1 modulators to treat metabolic disease, characterization of anti-inflammatory steroids and molecular evolution. We have ongoing drug development efforts in these areas.

With the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, we were well-placed to redirect our expertise to investigate detection and neutralizing antibodies using Cryo-EM, and to predict antibody escape using deep mutational scanning (DMS). Working closely with the RADx initiative, our methods have proven useful to multiple companies seeking FDA approval for their novel COVID-19 diagnostic methods. Currently we are expanding our technology to tackle other arising infectious diseases of concern and to design new therapeutic proteins.

Targeting the orphan nuclear receptor LRH-1 with small molecules

Funding Agency: NIH NIDDK
Project Dates: 07/01/2017 to 06/30/2028

Regulation of CSE-Derived Hydrogen Sulfide in the Heart

Funding Agency: NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, AND BLOOD INSTITUTE
Project Dates: 04/01/2023 to 03/30/2027

R01 Lipid-Mediated Control of Acetyl-CoA Metabolism in the Pathogenesis of NAFLD

Funding Agency: NIH NIDDK
Project Dates: 01/01/2024 to 01/01/2029

Them1 Inhibitors for the Management of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Funding Agency: NIDDK
Project Dates: 07/01/2023 to 06/29/2027

Rapid identification of human antibodies recognizing influenza hemagglutinin epitopes undergoing antigenic drift

Funding Agency: Center for Disease Control (CDC)
Project Dates: 12/01/2023 to 11/30/2025

Targeting LRH-1 to treat ulcerative colitis

Funding Agency: Department of Defense
Project Dates: 05/15/2023 to 05/14/2027

Diversity: Inclusion in the Modern Workplace, 2021
Building Supportive Communities: Taking Action (Title IX Refresher), 2024

André Cuevas

André Cuevas

Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology

Entrance Year: 2019

Topic: Development of small molecule modulators for steroidogenic factor-1 activity

Raining Huo

Raining Huo

Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology

Entrance Year: 2021

Molly Little

Molly Little (she/her)

Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology

Entrance Year: 2021

Topic: Characterization of small molecule-mediated activity of Them1

Shakshi Patel

Shakshi Patel

Molecular and Systems Pharmacology

Entrance Year: 2022

Topic: LRH-1 Antagonism as a Novel Approach for Treating Breast Cancer

Hannah Lute

Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology

MS, 2023


Michael Cato

Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology

PhD, 2023

"DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SYNTHETIC MODULATORS OF NUCLEAR RECEPTOR LRH-1: DRIVING DIVERGENT SIGNALING USING A COMMON MOLECULAR SCAFFOLD"


Samuel Druzak

Molecular and Systems Pharmacology

PhD, 2022

"Differential regulation of peroxisome proliferator activating receptors (PPARs) via host and microbial derived processes"


Emma D'Agostino

Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology

PhD, 2020

"Structure-Function Analysis of NR5A Nuclear Receptors"


Matthew Tillman

Molecular and Systems Pharmacology

PhD, 2020

"A STRUCTURAL AND BIOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATION OF HOW LIPID MESSENGERS ACT THROUGH LIPID TRANSFER PROTEINS TO REGULATE METABOLISM AND LONGEVITY"


R Esposito

Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology

MS, 2018


Emily Weikum

Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology

PhD, 2017

"Allosteric Modulation of Nuclear Receptor Function"


Will Hudson

Molecular and Systems Pharmacology

PhD, 2015

"Two for one: The glucocorticoid receptor as a DNA- and RNA-binding protein"


Eric Armstrong

Molecular and Systems Pharmacology

PhD, 2014

"The Role of Fatty Acid Binding Protein 5 (FABP5) in Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor β/δ (PPARβ/δ)-Mediated Fatty Acid and Retinoic Acid Signaling: A Structural Perspective"


Jennifer Colucci

Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology

PhD, 2014

"Identifying networks that drive steroid receptor cross pharmacology"


Paul Musille

Molecular and Systems Pharmacology

PhD, 2014

"Structural mechanism for NR5a activation"