Illustration of the US-Armenian neuroscientist and molecular biologist Ardem Patapoutian (born 1967). Patapoutian was born in Lebanon to an Armenian family. He emigrated to the US after one year of university, continuing his studies in molecular and developmental biology at the University of California. He is best known for his work on mechanoreception, the mechanisms by which animals detect and respond to stimuli such as touch and pressure. Patapoutian discovered ion channels, named PIEZO1 and PIEZO2, that transmit the mechanical stimuli to nerve impulses. He was awarded a share of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for this work along with David Julius.