UCL Prize Lecture in Life and Medical Sciences 2025

Prize Lecture in Life and Medical Sciences

The UCL Prize Lecture in Life and Medical Sciences is a prize awarded annually by UCL since 1997. The prize lecture has become one of the pre-eminent series on contemporary science in Europe in the annual year and staff and students in Life and Medical Sciences are able to nominate their choice of outstanding, innovative researcher.

We are delighted to announce that the next UCL Prize Lecture in Life and Medical Sciences will be given by Professor Ardem Patapoutian, discussing 'May the Force Be with You: PIEZO Ion Channels as Essential Pressure Sensors for Touch, Pain, and Beyond'.

Abstract:

Mechanotransduction was perhaps the last major sensory modality not understood at the molecular level. Proteins/ion channels that sense mechanical force are postulated to play critical roles in sensing touch/pain (somatosensation), sound (hearing), shear stress (cardiovascular function), etc.; however, the identity of ion channels involved in sensing mechanical force had remained elusive. The Patapoutian lab identified PIEZO1 and PIEZO2, mechanically-activated cation channels that are expressed in many mechanosensitive cell types. Genetic studies established that PIEZO2 is the principal mechanical transducer for touch, proprioception, baroreception and bladder & lung stretch, and that PIEZO1 mediates blood-flow sensing, which impacts vascular development and iron homeostasis. Clinical investigations have confirmed the importance of these channels in human physiology.

Biography:

Ardem Patapoutian is an American scientist of Armenian origin. He is molecular biologist specializing in sensory transduction. His research has led to the identification of receptors activated by temperature and pressure. His laboratory has shown that these ion channels play crucial roles in sensing temperature, touch, proprioception, pain and blood pressure. Patapoutian was born in Lebanon in 1967 and attended the American University of Beirut for one year before he immigrated to The United States in 1986 and became a US citizen. He graduated from UCLA in 1990 and received his Ph.D. at Caltech in 1996. After postdoctoral work with Dr. Lou Reichardt at UCSF, he joined the faculty of Scripps Research in 2000, where he currently holds the Presidential Endowed Chair and is a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience. Patapoutian was awarded the Young Investigator Award from the Society for Neuroscience in 2006 and was named an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in 2014. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2016), a member of the National Academy of Sciences (2017) and a member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020). He is a co-recipient of the 2017 Alden Spencer Award from Columbia, the 2019 Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical, the 2020 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience, and the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Registration:

All are welcome to attend this in-person event.

Registration is necessary in order to receive final event details. If you should register and then find that you are unable to attend, please cancel your booking on Eventbrite. Please note, if you are under 18, you must be accompanied by an adult.

Event programme:

5:00pm – Welcome and Introduction, Professor Ibrahim Abubakar, Vice Provost (Health), UCL

5:05pm - Lecture followed by a Q&A session chaired by Maria Fitzgerald, Professor of Developmental Neurobiology, UCL Division of Biosciences.

6:25pm - Closing remarks, President & Provost Dr Michael Spence.

6:30pm – Reception will take place in the Student Centre, 27-28 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0AW (across the road from the auditorium).

7:30pm - Close.

We are extremely grateful to UCL alumnus, Dr Sanjeev Kanoria, Chairman and Founder of Advinia Health Care Ltd, for his great generosity in supporting this lecture.

Accessibility:

There is a ramp/slope at this entrance. The ramp/slope is located to the left as you face the entrance.

The ramp does have handrails.

The lecture theatre is accessible with step free access.

Access to a w/c.

There are designated spaces for wheelchair users within the lecture theatre.

This event will include discussions about complex topics and themes, with audience participation and debate. Whilst under 18’s are welcome, they must attend with an adult who understands the nature of this event.

Should you have any further questions, please do not hestiate to contact us by emailing [email protected].

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