UCLA alumnus shares 2021 Nobel Prize for studies on touch, temperature receptors

This post was updated Oct. 4 at 12:37 p.m.

A UCLA alumnus and a UCSF professor were awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine on Monday.

Ardem Patapoutian and David Julius were jointly awarded the prize for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch.

Patapoutian, who was born in Lebanon, graduated UCLA with a degree in molecular, cell, and developmental biology in 1990. He currently works at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. 

Julius is a professor and chair of the physiology department at UCSF.

Prior to this year’s awards, seven alumni and eight faculty members from UCLA have been awarded the Nobel Prize.

The researchers helped explain how touch and different temperatures initiate signals in the human nervous system and how we perceive the world around us, said Patrik Ernfors, an adjunct member of the Nobel committee, at the award ceremony. The work contributes to the molecular understanding of human somatosensation, which includes the feelings of temperature and touch. The discoveries are being used to help with different conditions such as chronic pain.

Part of Julius’ research used capsaicin, a key ingredient in chili peppers, to identify special proteins in cells that respond to temperature change, according to a Nobel Prize press release.

Another research project by Patapoutian identified the mechanism in cells that registers touch. Patapoutian demonstrated that there exists a new class of proteins that function based on touch, or mechanical force.

The Nobel Assembly, based in Sweden, evaluates nominations and awards the yearly Nobel Prizes to individuals who make significant discoveries that benefit humankind, according to the press release.

“The work by David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian has unlocked one of the secrets of nature,” Ernfors said.