Source: Interfolio F180


Ardem Patapoutian, PhD

Professor
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Presidential Endowed Chair in Neurobiology
Department of Neuroscience


 Email

Research Focus

Mechanotransduction is perhaps the last 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 tone), etc.; however, the identity of ion channels involved in sensing mechanical force has 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, and baroreception, and that PIEZO1 mediates blood-flow sensing, which impacts blood pressure regulation and vascular development. Patapoutian lab has since isolated other mechanosensors including GPR68 and OSCA/TMEM63 family members. The lab continues to analyze the physiological relevance of these ion channels and receptors in mechanosensation, and search for novel mechanically activated sensors.

Education

Ph.D. (Biology), California Institute of Technology, 1996
B.S. (Cellular & Development Biology), University of California, Los Angeles, 1990

Professional Experience

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator, 2014-present

Department of Neuroscience, Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 2000-present. Presidential Endowed Chair in Neurobiology, 2020-present; Professor, 2008-present; Associate Professor, 2005-2008; Assistant Professor, 2000-2005

Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, San Diego, CA, 2000-2014. Director of Discovery Research, 2006-2014; Head of Neuroscience, 2002-2005; Staff Scientist, 2000-2003

Awards & Professional Activities

  • 2021  Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (shared with David Julius)
  • 2021  BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biology and Biomedicine (shared with David Julius)
  • 2020  The Kavli Prize in Neuroscience (shared with David Julius)
  • 2020  Elected member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS)
  • 2019  Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Research, Brandeis University (shared with David Julius)
  • 2017  Alden W. Spencer Prize, Columbia University (shared with David Ginty)
  • 2017  Member, National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
  • 2003  Damon Runyon Scholar Award, Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Research Foundation
  • 2001  Basil O'Connor Starter Scholar Research Award, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation
  • 1996  Postdoctoral Fellowship, Damony Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Research Foundation

Selected Publications

Hill, Rose Z.; Nelson, Jonathan W.; Gyarmati, Georgina; Medrano, Silvia; Shirvan, Sepenta; McCormick, James A.; Burquez, Sebastian; Ahmed, Jeanine; Eng, Diana G.; Wysocki, Jan; Dubin, Adrienne E.; Servin-Vences, M Roci R.; Lakshmanan, Arjun; Gomez, R Arie A.; Sequeira-Lopez, Maria Luisa S; Shankland, Stuart J.; Batlle, Daniel; Miner, Jeffrey H.; Peti-Peterdi, Janos; Patapoutian, Ardem Renal PIEZO2 is an essential regulator of renin. Cell 2026, 189, 161-178.e22.
[View]

Mulhall, Eric M.; Yarishkin, Oleg; Hill, Rose Z.; Koster, Anna K.; Patapoutian, Ardem The molecular basis of force selectivity by PIEZO2. Nature 2026.
[View]

Wang, Yu; Zhang, Yunxiao; Leung, Verina H.; Seradj, Saba Heydar H.; Sonmez, Utku; Servin-Vences, M Roci R.; Xiao, Shuke; Ren, Xiangyu; Wang, Leon; Mishkanian, Sassan A.; Kini, Sejal A.; Long, Jonathan Z.; Lipomi, Darren J.; Ye, Li; Patapoutian, Ardem A key role of PIEZO2 mechanosensitive ion channel in adipose sensory innervation. Cell Metabolism 2025, 37, 1001-1011.e7.
[View]

Zhang, Yunxiao; Kini, Sejal A.; Mishkanian, Sassan A.; Yarishkin, Oleg; Luo, Renhao; Seradj, Saba Heydar H.; Leung, Verina H.; Wang, Yu; Servín-Vences, M Rocí R.; Keenan, William T.; Sonmez, Utku; Sanchez-Alavez, Manuel; Liu, Yuejia; Jin, Xin; Lipomi, Darren J.; Ye, Li; Petrascheck, Michael; Frolova, Antonina I.; England, Sarah K.; Patapoutian, Ardem PIEZO channels link mechanical forces to uterine contractions in parturition. Science 2025, 390, eady3045.
[View]

Ma, Shang; Dubin, Adrienne E.; Romero, Luis O.; Loud, Meaghan; Salazar, Alexandra; Chu, Sarah; Klier, Nikola; Masri, Sameer; Zhang, Yunxiao; Wang, Yu; Chesler, Alex T.; Wilkinson, Katherine A.; Vásquez, Valeria; Marshall, Kara L.; Patapoutian, Ardem Excessive mechanotransduction in sensory neurons causes joint contractures. Science 2023, 379, 201-206.
[View]

Mulhall, Eric M.; Gharpure, Anant; Lee, Rachel M.; Dubin, Adrienne E.; Aaron, Jesse S.; Marshall, Kara L.; Spencer, Kathryn R.; Reiche, Michael A.; Henderson, Scott C.; Chew, Teng-Leong; Patapoutian, Ardem S. Direct observation of the conformational states of PIEZO1. Nature 2023.
[View]