Prof. Jean-Pierre Changeux is Emeritus Professor of Neuroscience at the Institut Pasteur and Professor in the chair of Cellular Communications at the Collège de France and Honorary President of the Neuroscience Department at Institut Pasteur. Since 2006, he is International Faculty at the Kavli Institute for Brain & Mind, University of California (San Diego).
Prof. Jean-Pierre Changeux is internationally recognized for his exceptional scientific achievements and leadership in the field of neuroscience and especially for his pioneering contributions to the science and understanding of neuroreceptors for the past 50 years.
Prof. Changeux’s breakthrough discovery of the acetylcholine receptor as a model membrane receptor was ground-breaking since it has proven to be one of the most central regulatory mechanisms in biology. This has led to an original insight into the chemistry of the brain and ultimately the brain-mind relationship.
In recognition of his work, Professor Jean-Pierre Changeux has been acknowledge by several prestigious prizes and awards, among which the: Albert Einstein World Award of Science (2018), Goldman-Rakic Prize (2018), Olav Thon international research award in biomedicine (2016), National Academy of Sciences Award in the Neurosciences (2007), Balzan Prize for Cognitive Neuroscience (2001), Linus Pauling medal (1998, 1999), Louis Jeantet Prize for Medicine(1993), Wolf Foundation Prize in Medicine (1983), Richard Lounsbery Prize (1983), Gairdner Foundation International Award (1978), etc.
Professor Jean-Pierre Changeux authored more than 600 papers (h-index: 153).
15 major publications
1 Changeux J.P. (1961) The feedback control mechanism of biosynthetic L-threonine deaminase by L-isoleucine. Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 26:313-318.
2 Monod J., Wyman J. & Changeux J.P. (1965) On the nature of allosteric transitions : a plausible model. J. Mol. Biol. 12:88-118.
3 Changeux J.P., Kasai M. & Lee C.Y. (1970) The use of a snake venom toxin to characterize the cholinergic receptor protein. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 67:1241-1247
4 Changeux J.P. & Danchin A. (1976) Selective stabilization of developing synapses as a mechanism for the specificication of neuronal networks. Nature, 264:705-712.
5 Devillers-Thiery A., Changeux J.P., Paroutaud P. & Strosberg A.D. (1979) The amino-terminal sequence of the 40.000 molecular weight subunit of the acetylcholine receptor protein from/Torpedo marmorata. FEBS Lett. 104:99-105.
6 Devillers-Thiéry A., Giraudat J., Bentaboulet M. & Changeux J.P. (1983) Complete mRNA coding sequence of the acetylcholine binding a-subunit of Torpedo marmorata acetylcholine receptor: a model for the transmembrane organization of the polypeptide chain. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 80:2067-2071.
7 Revah F., Bertrand D., Galzi J.L., Devillers-Thiéry A., Mulle C., Hussy N., Bertrand S., Ballivet M. & Changeux J.P. (1991) Mutations in the channel domain alter desensitization of a neuronal nicotinic receptor. Nature, 353:846-849.
8 Krause RM, Buisson B, Bertrand S, Corringer PJ, Galzi JL, Changeux JP, Bertrand D. (1998) Ivermectin a positive allosteric effector of the alpha7 neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Mol Pharmacol. 53:283-94.
9 Taly A., Delarue M., Grutter T., Nilges M., Le Novère N., Corringer P.J. & Changeux J.P. (2005) Normal mode analysis suggest a quaternary twist model for the nicotinic receptor gating mechanism. Biophysics J. 88 :3954-3965.
10 Bocquet N., Nury H, Baaden M., Le Poupon C., Changeux J.P., Delarue M. & Corringer PJ. (2009) X-ray structure of a pentameric ligand-gated ion channel in an apparently open conformation Nature. 457 : 111-114.
11 Nury H, Van Renterghem C, Weng Y, Tran A, Baaden M, Dufresne V, Changeux JP, Sonner JM, Delarue M, Corringer PJ. (2011) X-ray structures of general anaesthetics bound to a pentameric ligand-gated ion channel. Nature. 469:428-31.
12 Sauguet, L., Shahsavar, A., Poitevin, F., Huon, C., Menny, A., Nemecz, A., Haouz, A., Changeux, J. P., Corringer, P. J., Delarue, M. (2014) Crystal structures of a pentameric ligand-gated ion channel provide a mechanism for activation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 111:966-71.
13 Picciotto, M. R., M. Zoli, R. Rimondini, C. Lena, L. M. Marubio, E. M. Pich, K. Fuxe and J. Changeux (1998) Acetylcholine receptors containing the beta2 subunit are involved in the reinforcing properties of nicotine. Nature 391: 173-177.
14 Maskos U., Molles B.E., Pons S., Besson M., Guiard B.P., Guilloux J.P., Evrard A., Cazala P., Cormier A., Mameli-Engvall M., Dufour N., Cloëz-Tayarani I., Bemelmans A.P., Mallet J., Gardier A.M., David V., Faure P., Granon S. & Changeux J.P . (2005) Nicotine reinforcement and cognition restored by targeted expression of nicotinic receptors. Nature, 436 :103-107.
15 Changeux J.P (2018) The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor: a typical ‘allosteric machine’. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2018 Jun 19; 373 (1749). pii: 20170174. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0174.