Nordic Life Science 1
76 shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medici
ne 2021 with David Julius for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch. These discoveries have led to a better understanding of how the nervous system senses heat, cold and mechanical stimuli. “The Nobel Prize is wonderful recognition of these discoveries. I have followed Ardem’s career closely since he first came to Scripps Research and can say that he is an extraordinary scientist, mentor, colleague and a wonderful person,” said Peter Schultz, President and CEO of Scripps Research after the announcement. Ardem Patapoutian was born in 1967, in Beirut, Lebanon, and he grew up during Lebanon’s civil war (1975-1990). He started his scientific education at the American University of Beirut, where he studied chemistry. After only a year of studies, however, the war conditions made the family move to Los Angeles, USA, in 1986. He continued his education in the U.S. and received his Bachelor of Science in Molecular, Cellular and Development Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1990. Six years later he obtained his Ph.D. in Biology from the California Institute of Technology. He also performed post-doctoral research at the University of California in San Francisco. In 2000 he became Assistant Professor at Scripps Research, and during 2002-2005 he was also Head of Neuroscience at the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation. He continued at Scripps, first as Associate Professor and then as Professor.