Rob Leurs

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prof. dr. Rob Leurs

 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1354-2848

Personal profile

Research

Professor Rob Leurs studied Medicinal Chemistry at VU University Amsterdam and graduated in 1987. He performed his PhD research on G-protein coupled receptors and obtained his PhD degree from VU University in 1991. As a postdoctoral fellow at INSERM in Paris, he was involved in the cloning of genes encoding histaminergic and serotonergic receptors. In 1993, he was awarded with a 5-year fellowship of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Rob Leurs was appointed as assistant and full professor of the Division of Medicinal Chemistry in respectively 1998 and 2000. From 2003 to 2005, he was one of the two scientific directors of the Leiden-Amsterdam Center of Drug Research. From 2005 to 2008, he was member of the executive board of the Top Institute Pharma. Professor Leurs served as director of the Department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2006 and as vice-dean of the Faculty of Science from 2007 until 2010. He was awarded the Galenus Research Prize in 1997, the Organon Award for Pharmacology in 2000, and a Pfizer Academic Award and a STW/NWO Pionieer grant both in 2001. Moreover, the research group was selected as one of the few Dutch centers of excellence in Chemistry in 2014 and awarded 2 M€ TOP-PUNT grant of the Dutch foundation for Chemical Sciences. In 2016, he has been appointed as member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. 

Professor Leurs is currently involved in research on G-protein coupled receptors, with specific emphasis on ligands and receptor proteins for histamine and chemokines. Moreover, he is co-founder of Griffin Discoveries, a company that is valorizes the G-protein coupled receptor expertise and is currently involved in the discovery and development of GPCR receptor ligands. Next to that, he has in recent years started a new line on structure based development of potential drugs against Neglected Tropical Diseases. Prof. Leurs has been project leader of a NTD project of the Dutch Top institute Pharma and project leader of the EU-funded program Phosphodiesterase inhibitors for Neglected Parasitic diseases (www.PDE4NPD.eu).

Ancillary activities

  • Stichting Farmacochemie Amsterdam | Amsterdam | Secretaris | 2013-12-16 - present
  • Stichting Farmacochemische Congressen | Amsterdam | Secretaris | 2013-12-16 - present

Ancillary activities are updated daily

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
    SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

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  • Leveraging fragment-based drug discovery to advance 3D scaffolds into potent ligands: application to the histamine H1 receptor

    Dekker, T., van Linden, O. P. J., Lim, H. D., Dekker, M. E., Vischer, H. F., Leurs, R., van der Meer, T., Buzink, M. C. M. L., Hamilton, D. J., Zarzycka, B., Janssen, E., Wijtmans, M. & de Esch, I. J. P., 29 Jan 2026, (E-pub ahead of print) In: RSC Medicinal Chemistry. 10 p.

    Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

    Open Access

  • Optical control of H1 receptor signaling with a BODIPY-photocaged antihistamine

    Josimovic, I., Zheng, Y., Wang, Z., van der Meer, T., Wijtmans, M., Vischer, H. F. & Leurs, R., Apr 2026, In: Biochemical Pharmacology. 246, p. 1-11 11 p., 117705.

    Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

    Open Access

  • Inhibition of constitutive activity of the atypical chemokine receptor 3 by the small-molecule inverse agonist VUF16840

    Bosma, R., Nesheva, D., Rijnsburger, M., Riemens, R., Adamska, J. M., Meyrath, M., Mobach, S., Buzink, C. M., van der Pol, S., de Esch, I. J. P., Szpakowska, M., Wijtmans, M., Chevigne, A., Vischer, H. F. & Leurs, R., Dec 2025, In: Molecular Pharmacology. 107, 12, p. 1-11 11 p., 100085.

    Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

    Open Access

  • The Concise Guide to PHARMACOLOGY 2025/26: G protein-coupled receptors

    Alexander, S. P. H., Davenport, A. P., Kelly, E., Gibb, A. J., Mathie, A. A., Peach, C. J., Veale, E. L., Armstrong, J. F., Faccenda, E., Harding, S. D., Southan, C., Davies, J. A., Abbracchio, M. P., Abraham, G. R., Agoulnik, A., Alexander, W., Al-Hosaini, K., Bäck, M., Baker, J. G. & Barnes, N. M. & 187 others, Bathgate, R., Beaulieu, J. M., Beck-Sickinger, A. G., Behrens, M., Bennett, K. A., Bernstein, K. E., Bettler, B., Birdsall, N. J. M., Blaho, V. A., Bonaventure, P., Boulay, F., Bousquet, C., Bräuner-Osborne, H., Brown, A. J., Burnstock, G., Busnelli, M., Caló, G., Caruso, V., Castaño, J. P., Catt, K. J., Ceruti, S., Chazot, P., Chiang, N., Chini, B., Christopoulos, A., Chun, J., Cianciulli, A., Civelli, O., Clapp, L. H., Couture, R., Cox, H. M., Csaba, Z., Dahlgren, C., Dautzenberg, F. M., Dent, G., Douglas, S. D., Dournaud, P., Dubocovich, M. L., Eguchi, S., Escher, E., Filardo, E. J., Fong, T., Forsman, H. F., Fumagalli, M., Gainetdinov, R. R., Garelja, M. L., de Gasparo, M., Gbahou, F., Gerard, C., Gershengorn, M., Glass, M., Gloriam, D. E., Gobeil, F., Goodfriend, T. L., Goudet, C., Grätz, L., Gregory, K. J., Gruber, C., Gundlach, A. L., Hamann, J., Hanson, J., Hartman, D. S., Hauger, R. L., Hay, D. L., Heinemann, A., Heitman, L., Herr, D. R., Hollenberg, M. D., Holliday, N. D., Holst, B., Horiuchi, M., Hoyer, D., Hunyady, L., Husain, A., IJzerman, A. P., Inagami, T., Insel, P. A., Jacobson, K. A., Jacobson, L. H., Jensen, R. T., Jockers, R., Jonnalagadda, D., Karnik, S., Kaupmann, K., Kemp, J., Kennedy, C., Kihara, Y., Kinsolving, J., Kitazawa, T., Kozielewicz, P., Kreienkamp, H. J., Kukkonen, J. P., Laishram, L., Langenhan, T., Langmead, C. J., Larhammar, D., Leach, K., Lecca, D., Lee, J. D., Leeman, S. E., Leprince, J., Leurs, R., Li, X. X., Liebscher, I., Lolait, S. J., Lupp, A., Macrae, R., Maguire, J. J., Malfacini, D., Manning, M., Marangon, D., Martemyanov, K., Mazella, J., McArdle, C. A., Melmed, S., Michel, M. C., Miller, L. J., Mitolo, V., Mouillac, B., Müller, C. E., Murphy, P. M., Nahon, J. L., Neubig, R. R., Ngo, T., Norel, X., Nyimanu, D., O'Carroll, A. M., Offermanns, S., Panaro, M. A., Parmentier, M., Perry-Hauser, N., Pertwee, R. G., Pin, J. P., Prossnitz, E. R., Qin, H. C., Quinn, M., Raffaele, S., Ramachandran, R., Ray, M., Reinscheid, R. K., Buzón, A. R., Rondard, P., Rosenkilde, M. M., Rovati, G. E., Ruzza, C., Sanger, G. J., Scholz, N., Schöneberg, T., Schulte, G., Schulz, S., Segaloff, D. L., Serhan, C. N., Shukla, A. K., Singh, K. D., Smith, C. M., Smith, N. J., Stäubert, C., Stoddart, L. A., Sugimoto, Y., Summers, R., Tan, V. P., Thal, D. M., Thomas, W. W., Timmermans, P. B. M. W. M., Tirupula, K., Toll, L., Tulipano, G., Unal, H., Unger, T., Valant, C., Vanderheyden, P., Vaudry, D., Vaudry, H., Verbalis, J. G., Vilardaga, J. P., Walker, C. S., Wang, J. M., Ward, D. T., Wester, H. J., Willars, G. B., Williams, T. L., Woodruff, T. M., Wu, H., Yang, C., Yao, C., Ye, R. D. & Zaidman, N., Dec 2025, In: British Journal of Pharmacology. 182, S1, p. S24-S151 28 p.

    Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

    Open Access

  • Design and synthesis of photoswitchable desloratadine ligands for histamine H1 receptor photopharmacology

    Binkhorst, L. C. P., Josimovic, I., De Vetten, D., Nijman, T. J., Hauwert, N. J., Ahmad, S., Van Linden, O. P. J., De Esch, I. J. P., Vischer, H. F., Wijtmans, M. & Leurs, R., 1 Oct 2025, In: RSC Medicinal Chemistry. 2025, 16, p. 5041-5051 11 p.

    Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

    Open Access
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