Ardem Patapoutian

ARDEM PATAPOUTIAN
Nobel Prize Laureate in medicine, molecular biologist, neuroscientist
Ardem Sarkis Patapoutian was born in 1967 in Beirut.Patapoutian studied at the Faculty of Medicine of the American University of Beirut for a year; however, due to the civil war in Lebanon, the family relocated to the USA in 1985. In 1990, he graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a B.S. in Biology. He continued his education at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and earned a Doctorate in Biology in 1996. He got married to Nancy Hong. In 2000, he started a job at the California Institute of Technology San Diego and Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation affiliated with the Scripps Research Center. From 2002 to 2005, he chaired the Department of Neuroscience, and from 2006 to 2014 he assumed the role of Director of the Institute. Since 2005, he has been a lecturer at the Dorris Neuroscience Center and an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). The scope of his research includes discovering new ionic channels and receptors triggered by temperature, mechanical forces, and increased cell volume. He has been a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science since 2016 and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2017. The prizes and awards he has received are the Young Investigator Award for his unique contribution to Neuroscience (2016), the W. Alden Spenser Award (2017), the Rosenstiel Award for outstanding results in fundamental medical research, and the Kavli Prize (2020).
In 2021, Professor Ardem Patapoutian became a Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology and Medicine for his discovery of receptors for temperature and touch. In 2022, he was bestowed with the order of St. Mesrop Mashtots and designated an Honorary Member of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences. He was also granted an honorary doctorate from Yerevan State Medical University. HayPost released a commemorative stamp in his honor. Dr. Patapoutian presented a replica of his Nobel Prize medal to the History Museum of Armenia. Ardem Patapoutian has one son, Luca.