Touch, Pain, and the Edge of Neuroscience: Ardem Patapoutian on The Long Run

Ardem Patapoutian is today’s guest on The Long Run.

Ardem is a professor of neuroscience at Scripps Research in San Diego, and an investigator with Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His lab is focused on ion channels on the surface of cells that sense mechanical force, and how those signals are translated into our sense of touch, pain, and other basic bodily functions.

Ardem Patapoutian, professor, Scripps Research

This curiosity driven work in the peripheral nervous system led Ardem down a path to where he was eventually recognized with the Nobel Prize in 2021. It was for the discovery of PIEZO1 and PIEZO2, a couple of ion channels. Genetic studies established that PIEZO2 is the main mechanical transducer for touch, and proprioception (our sense of where our body is in physical space without having to look) among other things. PIEZO1 is now known to mediate our sense of blood-flow, which impacts blood pressure regulation and the development of blood vessels.

This field of discovery has significant implications for many areas of medicine. Listeners may be aware that another ion channel discovery, for Nav1.8, led Vertex Pharmaceuticals to successfully develop a pain reliever that acts in the peripheral nervous system and avoids addiction pathways in the brain. That line of inquiry into peripheral ion channels is closely related to the kind of basic curiosity-driven research done in labs like Ardem’s at Scripps Research.

Like many great American scientists, Ardem is an immigrant to this country. He grew up in Lebanon and is of Armenian heritage. His life story is inspiring. It offers an example of how America can bring out the best in people, and how we can be a beacon to the world.

The Long Run is sponsored by AlphaSense

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Now please enjoy this conversation with Ardem Patapoutian on The Long Run.