Contents
Ardem Patapoutian
Discovering molecular sensors that let cells detect pressure and help the body sense touch and position.
Cold sensing · PIEZO1 and PIEZO2
- Born
- October 1967
- Birthplace
- Beirut, Lebanon
More people
Ardem Patapoutian
Ardem Patapoutian investigates how physical forces become biological signals. His team’s discovery of PIEZO channels helped explain touch and the sense of where our limbs are, earning him a share of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Early life
Wartime Beirut
Grew up in a Lebanese Armenian family during Lebanon’s civil war.
Starting again
Moved to the United States in 1986, studied at UCLA and completed a biology doctorate at Caltech in 1996.
Career
- 1996–2000
Postdoctoral research
Worked at the University of California, San Francisco, studying the development of sensory systems.
- 2000
Scripps Research
Established a laboratory investigating how cells respond to temperature and mechanical force.
- 2014 onward
Expanded research
Became a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and explored PIEZO channels across bodily functions.
Contributions
Cold sensing
Contributed to identifying TRPM8 as a receptor involved in detecting cold and menthol.
PIEZO1 and PIEZO2
His team identified key components of mechanically activated ion channels.
Nobel Prize
Shared the medicine prize with David Julius for discoveries concerning temperature and touch.
Beyond the lab
Family history
His grandparents survived the Armenian genocide and settled in Lebanon.
An unexpected first job
Before his research career, he helped support himself in America through jobs including pizza delivery.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Institutional biography and research ↗Photo: Christopher Michel. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
.jpg){kind=link}