Julius Accepts Shaw Prize, Presents his Discoveries in Hong Kong

September 29, 2010

David Julius

David Julius, PhD, professor and chair of the UCSF Department of Physiology, is in Hong Kong, where on Sept. 28 he accepted the $1 million 2010 Shaw Prize in Life Sciences and Medicine, regarded as the preeminent international recognition for scientific achievement among awards originating in Asia.

Today, along with other 2010 Shaw Prize recipients, Julius will be giving a lecture describing his award-winning work. He’s talk is titled “From Peppers to Peppermints: Natural Products as Probes of the Pain Pathway.”

Julius has used distinctive molecules from the natural world – tarantula toxins and the capsaicin molecule that produces the hot in chilies, for instance – to gain an understanding of how signals responsible for temperature sensation and other sensory phenomena are transmitted within neural circuits. His work on noxious stimuli has offered insight and stimulated ideas among scientists who aim to better understand and treat chronic pain.

Photo by Susan Merrell