Xavier Rovira Algans obtained his PhD degree from the Neurosciences Institute of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). He was awarded several competitive grants (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, FEBS Longterm and Beatriu de Pinós) that allowed him to carry out two predoctoral stays at Cornell University (New York) and Université Paris Descartes (Paris), and a postdoctoral stay of around 4,5 years at the Institute de Génomique Fonctionnelle (Montpellier). These experiences allowed him to specialize in mathematical and molecular modeling of biological systems, cellular and molecular biology, bioinformatics and molecular pharmacology. Recently, in February 2020, he joined the Medicinal Chemistry and Synthesis (MCS) laboratory of the Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC), where he was awarded a Ramón y Cajal tenure track grant. In 2022, he became permanent researcher of the Spanish national research council (CSIC). His primary research interest has been the activation mechanisms of biological receptors. In particular, his studies helped to shed light on the activation dynamics of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), to understand the cooperativity between the different binding sites of the GPCRs and to develop molecules with innovative and optimized properties to control their activity. Importantly, during these years he has been able to establish a multidisciplinary international network of collaborators, which has played an essential role in the development of the emerging field named Photopharmacology. This emerging research area is based on the development and use of light-controlled drugs to regulate proteins with high temporal and spatial precision in their native environment. https://www.iqac.csic.es/mcs/ || https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9764-9927

Dr Cyril Goudet is a Research Director affiliated with the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). He currently works at the Institute of Functional Genomics in Montpellier, France, where he leads the ‘Molecular and Structural Mechanisms of Neuromodulation’ team. He received his PhD in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology from University of Burgundy, France. He then held postdoctoral positions at the Universities of Leuven and Montpellier before being recruited as a researcher at the CNRS. He is a neuropharmacologist and expert in the neuromodulation of biological functions by G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs), notably metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors. His research is dedicated to developing and understanding the mode of action of innovative pharmacological and photopharmacological tools, and their use in exploring the pathophysiological function and therapeutic potential of mGlu receptors in brain disorders with a particular focus on chronic pain. He has published 57 articles in peer-reviewed journals, 18 reviews and editorials, 6 book chapters, two granted patents and one provisional patent. Cyril Goudet is a member of the French Society of Neuroscience and of the French Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics (SFPT), where he was an elected member of the Administrative and Scientific Council (2014-2018). Since 2015, he is the president of the NC-IUPHAR committee on mGlu receptors.