Dr. Richard Mailman has had a decades-long interest in the design and discovery of novel dopamine receptor ligands. In 1994, his lab was also the first to discover, elaborate and name the major pharmacology research front now called functional selectivity, which is how drugs acting at a single receptor differentially activate or block selected signaling pathways of that receptor. His current research interest is focused on mechanisms of receptor signaling and how the resulting knowledge can be used for novel drugs with better therapeutic profiles. His research played a major role in the understanding of the mechanisms of action of aripiprazole and other third-generation antipsychotic drugs. 

His special long-term interest has been a class of drug called dopamine D1 agonists. He led a team that discovered the first important D1 agonist that he took from the lab to experimental clinical studies. His lab and their collaborators are studying the mechanisms by which D1 agonists affect cognitive processes and how these effects might be used for treatment of disorders with cognitive impairment. and disorders like attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The findings of his lab provided the foundation for several pharmaceutical companies to begin research in this area that now has led to recent industry-sponsored Phase II and Phase III clinical trials of D1 agonists. Working with a team from the College of Medicine's Translational Brain Research Center and the Department of Neurology's Division of Movement Disorders, they are breaking new ground in potential treatments for late-stage Parkinson's disease based on ideas from Dr. Mailman's lab. 

Dr. Richard Mailman is a College of Medicine Distinguished Senior Scholar