Ardem Patapoutian, recipient of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, will visit the IBDM on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, for a keynote seminar exploring one of the most fundamental questions in sensory biology: how do living organisms perceive mechanical forces such as touch, pressure, stretch or pain?

Professor at Scripps Research and Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Ardem Patapoutian is internationally recognized for the discovery of PIEZO1 and PIEZO2, mechanically activated ion channels that function as molecular sensors for touch and pressure. This groundbreaking work revealed the molecular basis of mechanotransduction, a sensory modality that had long remained poorly understood despite its central role in physiology.

The identification of PIEZO channels transformed our understanding of how the nervous system detects physical stimuli. These sensors are now known to play essential roles in touch perception, proprioception, bladder and lung stretch, vascular biology, bone physiology and many other physiological processes. Their implication in human health and disease has also opened new perspectives in neuroscience and medicine.

During this keynote seminar, Ardem Patapoutian will present the latest advances from his laboratory in the field of mechanosensation and interoception, as well as ongoing efforts to identify novel sensory pathways involved in physiology and disease.

🧠 “May the Force Be with You: PIEZO Ion Channels as Essential Pressure Sensors for Touch, Pain, and Beyond”

📅 Wednesday, June 3, 2026
🕦 11:30 AM
📍 Amphi 12

A lunch discussion with PhD students and postdoctoral fellows will also take place following the seminar.

More information about the Patapoutian lab: The Patapoutian Lab