David Julius

Jay David Julius (born 4 November 1955 Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York City ) is an American vision scientist and professor at the University of California, San Francisco ( UCSF ).

Life

Julius acquired in 1977 a Bachelor in Life Sciences ( Life Sciences ) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he gained first research experience in the laboratory of Alexander Rich. In 1984, he earned at Jeremy Thorner and Randy Schekman a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley, California. Julius worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the later Nobel laureate Richard Axel at Columbia University in New York City. In 1990 Julius joined the faculty at the University of California, San Francisco ( UCSF ) in San Francisco, California, where he (as of 2011 ) directs the Department of Physiology today.

Julius ' wife, Holly Ingraham, is also a professor of physiology at UCSF. The couple has a son.

Work

Julius was able to gain fundamental insights into the molecular and functional properties of ionotropic receptors that respond to serotonin and ATP, respectively responsible for modalities of pain, heat and cold receptors. Julius ' discoveries are integrated centrally in understanding the molecular basis of temperature perception, for the cold and warmth.

Julius discovered that the TRPV1 channel is a capsaicin receptor, which mediates the response of the body to different stimuli such as temperature, inflammation, and other forms of tissue damage. This was an important finding for the treatment of chronic pain syndrome and other syndromes associated with neurogenic inflammation, arthritis, cancer or asthma. Similarly, the understanding of allodynia and hyperalgesia was promoted, a sensation of pain, usually at non- nociceptive stimuli or an excessive sensation of pain with only minor pain stimuli.

Julius is, inter alia, Editor of the prestigious journal Annual Review of Physiology.

Awards (selection)

November 4 Cambridge (Massachusetts) Adenosine triphosphate
221669
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