Jean-Pierre Changeux
| Jean-Pierre Changeux | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
6 April 1936 Domont, France |
| Nationality | France |
| Fields | Neuroscience |
| Institutions |
Collège de France Institut Pasteur |
| Alma mater |
École Normale Supérieure Pasteur Institute |
| Doctoral advisor | Jacques Monod, Francois Jacob |
| Known for | MWC model, isolation of nAChR |
| Notable awards |
Wolf Prize in Medicine (1982) Balzan Prize (2001) |
Jean-Pierre Changeux (French: [ʃɑ̃ʒø]; born 6 April 1936) is a French neuroscientist known for his research in several fields of biology, from the structure and function of proteins (with a focus on the allosteric proteins), to the early development of the nervous system up to cognitive functions. Although being famous in biological sciences for the MWC model, the identification and purification of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and the theory of epigenesis by synapse selection are also notable scientific achievements. Changeux is known by the non-scientific public for his ideas regarding the connection between mind and physical brain. As put forth in his book, Conversations on Mind, Matter and Mathematics, Changeux strongly supports the view that the nervous system functions in a projective rather than reactive style and that interaction with the environment, rather than being instructive, results in the selection amongst a diversity of preexisting internal representations.
Changeux was born in Domont, France. He entered the École Normale Supérieure in 1955, where he obtained a Bachelor's degree (Licence) in 1957 and a Master's degree (Diplome d'Études Supérieure) in 1958. He also received his agrégation in natural science the same year. He began his scientific career during his ENS years during summer internships in Banyuls-sur-Mer where he identified a new genus of parasitic Copepod. He pursued PhD studies at the Pasteur Institute under the direction of Jacques Monod and Francois Jacob, and gained his doctorate in 1964. Changeux then left France for postdoctoral studies first at the University of California Berkeley (1965–1966) then at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New-York (1967). He returned to France as attaché to the chair of Molecular Biology held by Jacques Monod. In 1972, he became director of the Unit of Molecular Neurobiology at the Pasteur Institute, where he received a professorship in 1975. In 1975, Changeux was elected professor at the Collège de France, chair of Cell Communications, position that he held until 2006. Changeux is author of more than 600 scientific articles and several books, technical or for general audience.
...
Wikipedia