Scientists / Our Scientists

David Hackos

Senior Principal Scientist, Neuroscience

Postdoc Mentor

"My passion is to do great science that will someday result in innovative new medicines that will make patient's lives better."

Years at Genentech

Publications at Genentech

Awards & Honors

Ever since I was a graduate student at the University of California San Francisco, I have been fascinated by the structure, function, and pharmacology of ion channels. These critical proteins form the functional basis of the nervous system, and without them, our neurons would not be able to send signals down their axons or communicate with each other through synaptic transmission. Despite their importance in physiology, ion channels also make excellent drug targets for a variety of neurological disorders, as long as we can figure out how to target them selectively and in the right way. Currently my lab is leading efforts in the development of novel pain drugs that take advantage on ion channels as targets. We also work on ion channels as targets for inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.

Postdoctoral Mentor

Genentech is a place where you can do science at the highest possible level within a highly multi-disciplinary research environment with cutting-edge infrastructure. The postdoc program at Genentech provides a place for young scientists to dive into this environment and make fundamental contributions to our understanding of the biology of neurological disorders, laying the groundwork for the discovery of the next generation of high-impact therapeutics.

Featured Publication

Structural basis of Nav1.7 inhibition by an isoform-selective small-molecule antagonist.

Science. 2015 Dec 18;350(6267):aac5464.

Ahuja S, Mukund S, Deng L, Khakh K, Chang E, Ho H, Shriver S, Young C, Lin S, Johnson JP Jr, Wu P, Li J, Coons M, Tam C, Brillantes B, Sampang H, Mortara K, Bowman KK, Clark KR, Estevez A, Xie Z, Verschoof H, Grimwood M, Dehnhardt C, Andrez JC, Focken T, Sutherlin DP, Safina BS, Starovasnik MA, Ortwine DF, Franke Y, Cohen CJ, Hackos DH, Koth CM, Payandeh J.

View Abstract

Structural basis of a-scorpion toxin action on Nav channels.

Science, ISSN: 10959203 00368075.

Thomas Clairfeuille; Alexander Cloake; Daniel T. Infield; José P. Llongueras; Christopher P. Arthur; Zhong Rong Li; Yuwen Jian; Marie-France Martin-Eauclaire; Pierre E. Bougis; Claudio Ciferri; Christopher A. Ahern; Frank Bosmans; David Hackos; Alexis Rohou; Jian Payandeh.

View Abstract

One major focus of my lab is the development of selective voltage-gated sodium channel modulators. Our work on Nav1.7, an important pain target, has led to the discovery of a novel binding site that allows the development of highly isoform-selective sodium channel blockers that some day might lead to a revolutionary new type of pain drug. Our work on the human genetics of pain and studies of the circuitry of pain within the spinal cord are yielding new mechanistic insights that may lead to novel ways to target pain in the future. Finally, we study in interaction between the sensory nervous system and the immune system to identify targets for pain and/or inflammatory disease.

Tetrahydrofuran-Based Transient Receptor Potential Ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) Antagonists: Ligand-Based Discovery, Activity in a Rodent Asthma Model, and Mechanism-of-Action via Cryogenic Electron Microscopy

Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, ISSN: 15204804 00222623

Jack A. Terrett; Huifen Chen; Daniel G. Shore; Elisia Villemure; Larouche-Gauthier; Martin Déry; Francis Beaumier; Léa Constantineau-Forget; Chantal Grand-Maître; Luce Lépissier; Stéphane Ciblat; Claudio Sturino; Yong Chen; Baihua Hu; Aijun Lu; Yunli Wang; Andrew P. Cridland; Stuart I. Ward; David Hackos; Rebecca M. Reese; Shannon D. Shields; Jun Chen; Alessia Balestrini; Lorena Riol-Blanco; Wyne P. Lee; John Liu; Eric Suto; Xiumin Wu; Juan Zhang; Justin Ly; Hank La; Kevin Johnson; Matthew Baumgardner; Kang-Jye Chou; Alexis Rohou; Lionel Rouge; Brian S. Safina; Steven Magnuson; Matthew Volgraf

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David Hackos

Senior Principal Scientist, Neuroscience

Featured Publication

Structural basis of Nav1.7 inhibition by an isoform-selective small-molecule antagonist.

Structural basis of a-scorpion toxin action on Nav channels.

Big Ideas

Shutting Down Pain