David Julius

David Julius
Born	David Jay Julius 4 11, 1955
Birthplace	Brighton Beach, New York City, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Physiologist, professor
Title	Professor and Chair, Department of Physiology; Morris Herzstein Chair in Molecular Biology and Medicine
Employer	University of California, San Francisco
Known for	Characterization of TRPV1 and TRPM8 receptors; molecular mechanisms of pain and temperature sensation
Education	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS) University of California, Berkeley (MS, PhD) Columbia University (postdoctoral training)
Spouse(s)	Holly Ingraham
Awards	Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine (2010) Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2020) Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2021)

David Jay Julius (born November 4, 1955) is an American physiologist and Nobel Prize laureate whose research has transformed the scientific understanding of how the human body senses pain and temperature. A professor and former chair of the Department of Physiology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Julius is best known for his identification and characterization of the TRPV1 receptor—the molecular sensor that detects capsaicin, the compound responsible for the burning sensation produced by chili peppers—and the TRPM8 receptor, which senses menthol and cold temperatures. Born and raised in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, a neighborhood he described as "a landing pad for Eastern European immigrants," Julius pursued an academic path that led him from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to the University of California, Berkeley, and ultimately to UCSF, where he has spent much of his career. His work has opened new avenues for understanding the molecular basis of somatosensation—the process by which the nervous system detects touch, temperature, and pain—and has had significant implications for the development of novel analgesic therapies. In 2021, Julius was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with Ardem Patapoutian "for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch."

Early Life

David Jay Julius was born on November 4, 1955, in Brighton Beach, a neighborhood in the borough of Brooklyn, New York City. Brighton Beach, situated along the southern coast of Brooklyn adjacent to Coney Island, was at the time a densely populated community with a large population of immigrants and first-generation Americans from Eastern Europe. Julius himself described the neighborhood as "a landing pad for Eastern European immigrants like my grandparents."

Julius grew up in this working-class community, which would later become well known for its concentration of Soviet Jewish émigrés. His family background in the immigrant experience of Brighton Beach provided a formative context for his upbringing. Details about his parents' specific occupations and his siblings, if any, are not extensively documented in available sources, though his roots in this community have been noted in biographical profiles following his Nobel Prize award.

Growing up in New York City, Julius developed an early interest in science. The cultural and intellectual environment of the city, combined with the public education system available to him, helped nurture an academic orientation that would eventually lead him to pursue studies in the biological sciences at some of the nation's leading research institutions.

Education

Julius received his undergraduate education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree. He then moved to the University of California, Berkeley, where he pursued graduate studies and earned both a Master of Science and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree. At Berkeley, Julius began to develop his interest in the molecular mechanisms underlying biological processes, training in an environment that emphasized rigorous biochemical and molecular biological approaches.

Following the completion of his doctoral work, Julius undertook postdoctoral training at Columbia University in New York City. During this period, he gained experience in molecular pharmacology and neuroscience that would prove essential to his later groundbreaking research on sensory receptors. His postdoctoral research at Columbia helped him refine the experimental strategies—including the use of expression cloning techniques—that he would later apply to identify the molecular receptors responsible for pain and temperature sensation.

Career

UCSF Faculty Appointment

After completing his postdoctoral training at Columbia University, Julius joined the faculty of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where he became a professor in the Department of Physiology. He rose to become chair of the department and was appointed to the Morris Herzstein Chair in Molecular Biology and Medicine, one of the institution's distinguished endowed professorships. UCSF, consistently ranked among the top biomedical research institutions in the United States, provided Julius with the resources and collaborative environment necessary to pursue his ambitious research program focused on the molecular basis of somatosensation.

Julius has remained at UCSF throughout his career as an independent investigator. In a 2025 reflection on the university's history of Nobel Prize–winning research, Julius remarked that in science, success is closely tied to institutional environment, comparing it to real estate: "It's about location, location, location."

Identification of TRPV1

The research for which Julius is most recognized centers on his identification and characterization of the TRPV1 receptor (originally designated VR1, for vanilloid receptor 1). This receptor is a nonselective cation channel that serves as the molecular sensor for capsaicin—the pungent chemical compound found in chili peppers that produces the sensation of burning heat when consumed or applied to the skin.

Julius and his laboratory used capsaicin as a molecular probe to identify the receptor responsible for detecting painful heat. Using an expression cloning strategy, his team created a library of DNA fragments from sensory neurons known to respond to capsaicin and systematically tested these fragments in cells that normally did not respond to the compound. When a specific gene was introduced into these cells and rendered them sensitive to capsaicin, Julius and his colleagues had identified the gene encoding the TRPV1 receptor.

The discovery, published in 1997, was a landmark in the field of sensory biology. TRPV1 was shown to be activated not only by capsaicin but also by noxious heat (temperatures above approximately 43°C) and by acidic conditions (low pH), suggesting that it served as a polymodal sensor at the molecular level. This finding provided the first molecular explanation for how the nervous system detects potentially harmful thermal stimuli and explained the longstanding observation that capsaicin produces a sensation of burning heat.

The characterization of TRPV1 revealed that the receptor belongs to the transient receptor potential (TRP) superfamily of ion channels, a large family of proteins involved in a wide range of sensory functions. The discovery opened an entirely new field of research into TRP channels and their roles in sensory perception, and it established a paradigm for understanding how environmental stimuli are converted into electrical signals in the nervous system.

Identification of TRPM8

Building on the success of the TRPV1 work, Julius and his laboratory turned their attention to the molecular mechanisms underlying the sensation of cold. Using a similar experimental approach, they identified the TRPM8 receptor, which responds to menthol—the compound that produces the cooling sensation associated with mint—and to cold temperatures.

The identification of TRPM8 demonstrated that the TRP channel family included members dedicated to detecting cool and cold temperatures, complementing the role of TRPV1 in detecting heat. This discovery provided a more complete molecular picture of how the somatosensory system discriminates among different temperature ranges, from noxious heat to pleasant warmth to cool and cold stimuli. TRPM8 was shown to be activated at temperatures below approximately 26°C, placing it in the range associated with the sensation of pleasant coolness to uncomfortable cold.

Together, the discoveries of TRPV1 and TRPM8 established that distinct molecular sensors in sensory neurons are responsible for detecting different temperature ranges, providing a molecular logic for thermosensation. This work represented a fundamental advance in the understanding of how organisms perceive and respond to their thermal environment.

Broader Research on Pain and Somatosensation

Beyond his work on TRPV1 and TRPM8, Julius has conducted extensive research on the broader molecular mechanisms of nociception (pain detection) and somatosensation. His laboratory has investigated additional TRP channels and other molecular sensors involved in detecting chemical irritants and inflammatory mediators. This research has contributed to the understanding of how tissue injury and inflammation sensitize pain pathways, a process known as peripheral sensitization that contributes to chronic pain conditions.

Julius's research program has also explored the use of natural products and animal toxins as tools for understanding sensory biology. In one notable line of research, his laboratory studied toxins from animals such as spiders and scorpions that target ion channels involved in pain signaling, using these molecules as pharmacological tools to probe the function and structure of sensory receptors.

The implications of Julius's discoveries for medicine are significant. Chronic pain affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide and represents one of the most challenging problems in clinical medicine. By identifying the specific molecular targets involved in pain detection and sensitization, Julius's work has provided a rational basis for the development of new analgesic drugs that could potentially offer alternatives to existing pain therapies, including opioids, which carry substantial risks of addiction and other adverse effects.

Salk Institute Fellowship

In May 2025, Julius was named a Nonresident Fellow of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, alongside Stanford University professor Stephen Quake. The Nonresident Fellow designation at the Salk Institute is an honorary appointment that recognizes scientists whose work has had a transformative impact on their fields. The appointment reflects Julius's standing as one of the leading biomedical researchers of his generation.

Lecturing and Public Engagement

Following his Nobel Prize, Julius has been active in sharing his scientific findings and perspectives through public lectures and keynote addresses. In April 2025, he was invited to deliver the Senior Vice Chancellor's Laureate Lecture at the inaugural Pain Day event at the University of Pittsburgh, a symposium focused on advancing pain research and treatment. Such engagements underscore the continued relevance of his research to ongoing clinical and scientific efforts to address the global burden of pain.

Personal Life

David Julius is married to Holly Ingraham, who is also a scientist at the University of California, San Francisco. Ingraham is a professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at UCSF, making the couple part of a dual-career academic household at the same institution. Beyond this, Julius has maintained a relatively private personal life, and few details about his life outside the laboratory have been widely reported.

Julius has spoken publicly about his upbringing in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, and the influence of his family's immigrant background on his values and work ethic. In interviews following his Nobel Prize, he reflected on the community in which he was raised and its role in shaping his path to science.

Recognition

David Julius has received numerous major awards and honors for his contributions to the understanding of sensory biology and pain. His awards trace a trajectory of growing recognition over more than two decades, culminating in the Nobel Prize.

In 2010, Julius was named a recipient of the Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine, one of the most prestigious international awards in the biomedical sciences. The Shaw Prize, sometimes referred to as the "Nobel of the East," recognized his contributions to the understanding of pain and temperature sensation.

In 2017, Julius received the HFSP Nakasone Award from the Human Frontier Science Program, which honors scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the understanding of complex mechanisms of living organisms.

Julius was awarded the Canada Gairdner International Award, a prize widely regarded as a predictor of subsequent Nobel recognition, for his work on molecular mechanisms of nociception and thermosensation.

In 2020, Julius received the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, which carries a monetary award of $3 million, making it one of the most lucrative prizes in science. The award recognized his discovery of "molecules, cells, and mechanisms underlying pain sensation."

Also in 2020, Julius was awarded the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience, shared with Ardem Patapoutian, for "the discovery of the receptors for temperature and pressure."

Julius was additionally a recipient of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award, another high-profile international science prize.

The culmination of this recognition came on October 4, 2021, when the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet announced that Julius would share the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Ardem Patapoutian. The Nobel Committee cited their "discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch," noting that these findings had "allowed us to understand how heat, cold and mechanical force can initiate the nerve impulses that allow us to perceive and adapt to the world around us." Julius was specifically recognized for his use of capsaicin to identify TRPV1, the sensor for heat, while Patapoutian was recognized for discovering the Piezo1 and Piezo2 receptors that sense mechanical force and touch.

Legacy

The discoveries made by David Julius and his laboratory have had a foundational impact on the field of sensory neuroscience. Before his identification of TRPV1 in 1997, the molecular mechanisms by which the nervous system detected temperature and pain were largely unknown. The identification of specific molecular receptors for heat, cold, and chemical irritants provided a conceptual framework that has guided thousands of subsequent studies by researchers worldwide.

Julius's work established the TRP channel family as central players in somatosensation and opened a new era of research into the molecular biology of the senses. The discovery of TRPV1 and TRPM8 demonstrated that the nervous system uses a defined set of molecular sensors, each tuned to detect a specific range of physical or chemical stimuli, to construct a detailed representation of the external environment. This insight has been described as analogous to the earlier identification of rhodopsin as the molecular basis of vision—a discovery of the fundamental molecular mechanism underlying an entire sensory modality.

From a translational perspective, Julius's identification of TRPV1 and related receptors has provided pharmaceutical researchers with specific molecular targets for the development of new pain medications. Multiple pharmaceutical companies have pursued TRPV1 antagonists and modulators of related channels as potential treatments for chronic pain conditions, inflammatory pain, and neuropathic pain. While the development of clinically effective drugs targeting these receptors has presented challenges, the fundamental knowledge provided by Julius's work continues to inform drug discovery efforts.

Julius's influence extends beyond his specific discoveries to his broader impact on the culture and methodology of sensory neuroscience. His use of natural products—capsaicin from chili peppers, menthol from mint, and various animal toxins—as tools for molecular discovery has served as a model for other researchers seeking to identify novel sensory receptors and ion channels. This approach, which combines traditional natural product pharmacology with modern molecular biology techniques, has proven to be a productive strategy for unlocking the molecular basis of sensory perception.

At UCSF, Julius has contributed to the institution's longstanding tradition of excellence in biomedical research. UCSF has been the home institution of multiple Nobel laureates, and Julius's prize in 2021 added to this legacy. His continued presence at the university, combined with his role as a mentor to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, ensures that his influence on the next generation of scientists extends beyond his published research.

In 2025, his appointment as a Nonresident Fellow of the Salk Institute further cemented his position among the leading scientists of his era, recognizing his sustained contributions to biological research.