Ardem Patapoutian, the 2021 Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, has been invited by the San Francisco de Quito University (USFQ) for an academic exchange in Ecuador. Patapoutian, together with David Julius, was awarded for identifying the sensors that allow us to feel pain and temperature in the human body, which has led to the development of alternative therapies for the management of chronic pain.
Patapoutian is an expert in exploring the sense of touch, which is one of the least studied senses. He has conducted research on pressure-sensitive cells to discover new sensors that respond to mechanical stimuli on the skin and internal organs of the body. This extensive work has led to a better understanding of how our body perceives heat, cold, and pain, which has been one of the great mysteries in biology and medicine.
The USFQ, a leader in research and academic exchange in Ecuador, is thrilled to have Patapoutian as a guest to share his knowledge and advancements in touch sensory research.
* Talk in english with simultaneous translation
Venue: Neuchatel Room - Swissotel Quito
Time: 18h00
Date: Thursday, February 23rd
Free event
Who is Ardem Patapoutian?
Ardem Patapoutian is a molecular biologist and physiologist who, through his laboratory, has identified the molecules that detect temperature and pressure involved in touch, pain, and regulation of blood pressure. Patapoutian was born in Lebanon in 1967 and immigrated to the US in 1986. He graduated from UCLA in 1990 with a B.S. and received his Ph.D. from Caltech in 1996. He joined the faculty at Scripps Research in 2000, where he currently holds the Chair Endowed in Neurobiology and is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (2017) and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020). He is a co-winner of the 2020 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience, the 2021 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award, and the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (all shared with David Julius).
Schedule
| Time | Speaker | Activity |
| 9:00 am | Dr. Diego Quiroga | Welcome to USFQ |
| 9:05 am | Dr. Andrea Encalada | Presentation of the event and Dr. Ardem Patapoutian, Medicine Nobel Award 2021 |
| 9:15 am | Dr. Ardem Patapoutian | “The role of PIEZO ion channels in sensory biology” |
| 10:15 am | Dr. Nelson Maldonado | Presentation of the symposium and speakers |
| 10:20 am | Dr. Panos Varelas | “Beyond the friontiers of brain death” |
| 10:45 am | Dr. Chethan Rao | COMPOSEing a Cure for Coma: Insights into the Complexities of Consciousness in Neurological injuries. |
| 11:10 am | COFFEE BREAK | |
| 11:40 pm | Dr. Jonathan Burdette | Music, Starlings, and the Brain: Network Neuroscience in the 21st Century |
| 12: 05 pm | Dr. Michael Thaut | ADVANCES AND PERSPECTIVES OF THE CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE OF MUSIC: Foundations for Neurologic Music Therapy |
| 12:30 pm | Dr. Henry Vásconez | Conclusions of the symposium |
| 12:35 pm | Dr. Carlos Montúfar | Science at USFQ |
| 12:40 pm | Dr. Santiago Gangotena | Closure of the event and invitation to cocktail |
| 12:45 pm | Cocktail | |
| 1:15 pm | Event finalizes | |
Speakers
Dr. Chethan Rao
Dr. Chethan Rao is a vascular neurologist and a neuro intensivist. He is an associate professor, holds the William T Butler endowed chair for distinguished faculty, and is the section head of Vascular Neurology and Neurocritical Care at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. He is board-certified in neurology, vascular neurology, and neurocritical care. He has extensive training and expertise in the care of stroke and neurocritical care patients, as well as transcranial Doppler ultrasounds. He has published multiple manuscripts in reputable journals, serves on editorial boards, and is a site PI for multiple trials. His research interests include global variability in neurocritical care, disorders of consciousness, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and the impact of microgravity on neurology. He leads the COMPOSE study evaluating coma patients and the member sites module of the Curing Coma Campaign.
Dr. Jonathan Burdette
Dr. Jonathan Burdette is a Professor of Neuroradiology at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC, where he is the Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Radiology and Section Chief of Neuroradiology. Following graduation with a degree in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University, he received his MD degree from The University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis and did his radiology residency at The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. His neuroradiology fellowship was at Wake Forest University where he has been ever since. He has published 106 peer-reviewed manuscripts. He is a founding member of the Laboratory for Complex Brain Networks (LCBN), an interdisciplinary group of scientists dedicated to using functional MRI (fMRI) to study the brain using network theory approaches. The LCBN studies how exercise, nutritional habits, beet root juice, and meditation affect the functioning brain in the elderly. Additional research interests include the effects of music on the brain and the effects of pesticide exposure on brain development in children of Latino farmworkers. When he is not working, Dr. Burdette enjoys performing with the local opera company and watching his three daughters perform as the bluegrass/Celtic band The Dan River Girls.
Panayiotis N. Varelas, MD, PhD, FNCS, FAAN
Dr Panayiotis N. Varelas graduated from the University of Athens Medical School in 1983 and completed Neurology residencies in Greece and again at Yale School of Medicine. He also completed a Neurocritical Care fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He served as the inaugural Neuro-ICU Medical Director at the Medical College of Wisconsin and at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan. In 2019 he was appointed Chair of the Department of Neurology at Albany Medical College, in Albany New York, where he holds the title of Tenured Professor of Neurology.
He has published more than 140 peer- reviewed articles, 1 book (currently in 3d Edition), more than 30 chapters and 150 abstracts. He participates in several federal or industry-sponsored research grants. His research interest includes stroke, brain death, epileptic seizures and post cardiac arrest brain injury prognostication.
Dr Varelas has national and international reputation. He has served as the past Chairman of the Critical Care and Emergency Neurology Section of the American Academy of Neurology and a Chair of the Advisory Board of Gift of Life of Michigan, the Organ Procurement Organization of that State. He also served as the President of the Neurocritical Care Society between 2021 and 2022 and currently serves as Immediate Past President in this international Society, with more than 3,200 members around the World.
Dr. Michael H. Thaut, PhD
Dr. Michael H. Thaut, PhD, is currently a Professor of Music with cross-appointments in the Faculty of Medicine [Rehabilitation Science, Medical Science, Neuroscience] at the University of Toronto. He also holds appointments as Collaborator Scientist at the CAMH Hospital Neuroimaging Division and the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’ Hospital, Toronto. He is Director of the university’s Music and Health Science Research Center (MAHRC) and Music and Health Science Graduate programs [MHS]. His position is endowed by a TIER I CANADA RESEARCH CHAIR IN MIUSIC, NEUROSCIENCE, AND HEALTH award from the Federal Government of Canada.
Dr. Thaut received his Master’s and PhD in Music from Michigan State University, with a cognate minor in movement science. He holds a special diploma in music from the Mozarteum University in Salzburg/Austria and a German Diplom in Psychology/Education from the University of Muenster. Prior to his appointment at the University of Toronto, he was a Professor of Music and Professor of Neuroscience as well as Director of the Center for Biomedical Research in Music at Colorado State University where he also served as Director of the School of the Arts from 2001-2009. He has held many visiting professoral positions internationally including at the University of Michigan Dept. of Movement Science, Düsseldorf University Medical School, National Institute for Neuroscience Research IRCCS Santa Lucia/Rome, Heidelberg University of Applied Sciences, and Kurashiki Sakuyo Music University in Japan to name a few.
Dr. Thaut is an international leader in the basic and clinical neuroscience of music and has internationally recognized research in relation to the applications of auditory neuroscience, specifically for music and rhythm, to brain rehabilitation. He has over 250 scientific publications and is the co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology, senior editor of the Oxford Handbook of Music and the Brain, and the Oxford Handbook of Neurologic Music Therapy which was second in the annual British Medical Association book award in the category “Best New Book in Neurology 2015”. He is President Emeritus of the International Society for Clinical Neuromusicology, Vice President of the International Society for Music and Medicine, Presidium Member of the World Federation of Neurorehabilitation, an Overseas Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine/ UK, and a Board Member of the International Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy.
His research team in collaboration with medical science and clinician groups worldwide developed the field of Neurological Music Therapy, which is a medically recognized evidence based system of music-based interventions applied to a broad range of neurologic disorders, practiced by certified clinicians in over 60 countries worldwide, and endorsed by the World Federation of Neurorehabilitation.
As a former professional violinist in the classic and folk genre, Dr. Thaut has recorded several LPs/CDs and has toured extensively throughout Europe.