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).
The discovery
In his quest to understand the sensory mechanisms involved in touch, pain, and temperature, Ardem Patapoutian has conducted extensive research on pressure-sensitive cells in the skin and internal organs. Through this work, he has identified new sensors that respond to mechanical stimuli, enabling a better understanding of how our bodies perceive the world around us, including the essential senses of heat, cold, and pain. Patapoutian's work has shed light on one of the greatest mysteries of biology and medicine. Together with his fellow Nobel laureate David Julius, who discovered the receptor gene for capsaicin, Patapoutian's research has unlocked the key to the relationship between physical processes such as pressure and temperature and the electrochemical impulses that transmit sensory information to the central nervous system. Julius's study of membrane receptor proteins for temperature (cold or heat) provided the basis for Patapoutian's investigation of the molecular underpinnings of sensory perception, specifically with respect to pressure.