Caitlin Runne, a Pharmacology graduate student in the laboratory of Assistant Professor Songhai Chen was awarded the best poster award at the 50th annual MIKI Medicinal Chemistry meeting held recently at the University of Iowa. The title of her poster was “Activation mechanisms of a novel RhoGEF PLEKHG2 by G protein bγ subunits”. PLEKHG2 is a novel Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor that is activated by G protein bγ subunits and has been linked to cell transformation and tumor formation. However, the activation mechanisms of PLEKHG2 are unknown. Dr. Chen said, “since joining my laboratory, Caitlin has been working diligently and relentlessly to elucidate how G protein-coupled receptors transmit extracellular signals through Gbγ to activate PLEKHG2. Her work begins to unveil a novel mechanism by which Gbγ activates PLEKHG2 by relieving autoinhibition imposed by the C-terminus of PLEKHG2”.