University of Illinois Chicago · PharmacologyThe Acetylcholine Project
Andrew Riley · Chicago, Illinois
Research Focus
Dr. Andrew Riley's lab focuses on developing new treatments for drug addiction and chronic pain. One of their key projects aims to create medications targeting specific nicotinic acetylcholine receptors involved in substance use disorders like cocaine addiction. Another project investigates receptors linked to neuropathic pain, seeking effective, non-opioid solutions for patients suffering from chronic pain. Through these studies, the lab hopes to address significant public health issues related to drug addiction and pain management.
nicotinic acetylcholine receptorscocaine use disorderneuropathic paindrug addictionopioid alternatives
Research Aims
3AIM 01Develop novel negative allosteric modulators for 34 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors to treat cocaine addiction.
AIM 02Investigate the structure and function of the 910 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor for neuropathic pain management.
AIM 03Translate findings into preclinical tests to evaluate the efficacy of new drug candidates in animal models.
Skills the Lab Values
animal modelshigh-throughput screeningcell culturepharmacological assaysbiological assaysmolecular biology techniquesprotein expressionligand binding studies
Output against the department
Publications193top 45% of dept.210th of 462
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations4.8kbottom 35% of dept.300th of 462
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.