Joël Bockaert (born 3 October 1945, in

Roubaix Roubaix ( or ; nl, Robaais; vls, Roboais) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial commune in the Nord department, which grew rapidly in the 19th century ...

) is a French

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

Biography

He was a student at the École Normale d'Instituteur in

Mérignac Mérignac may refer to : ;Places * Mérignac, Charente, a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France * Mérignac, Charente-Maritime, a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France * Mérignac, Gironde, a commun ...

(33) from 1961 to 1964 and at the

École Normale supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

-Rue d'Ulm-Paris from 1964 to 1968. Graduate in

Natural Sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

(1968), he completed his thesis work at the

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment (''grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris ne ...

and his post-doctoral internship at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He was successively a professor at the

University of Paris VI Pierre and Marie Curie University (french: link=no, Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, UPMC), also known as Paris 6, was a public research university in Paris, France, from 1971 to 2017. The university was located on the Jussieu Campus in the La ...

(1968–73), deputy director of the Chair of

Cell Physiology Cell physiology is the biological study of the activities that take place in a cell to keep it alive. The term ''physiology'' refers to normal functions in a living organism. Animal cells, plant cells and microorganism cells show similarities in th ...

at the Collège de France (1973–82) before being, in

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

, Director of Research at the

CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...

(1982-2001) then Professor at the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest univ ...

(2001-2014). In Montpellier, he founded the CNRS-INSERM Institute of

Pharmacology Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...

Endocrinology Endocrinology (from '' endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental event ...

(1982), of which he was Director from 1990 to 2005 and then the Institute of

Functional Genomics Functional genomics is a field of molecular biology that attempts to describe gene (and protein) functions and interactions. Functional genomics make use of the vast data generated by genomic and transcriptomic projects (such as genome sequencing ...

. In 2013, he became Director of the Biology and Health Department of Montpellier.

Scientific work

Joël Bockaert's work has been devoted to the study of intercellular communications and in particular those involved in the

brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...

. Joël Bockaert was one of the pioneers in the study of molecules responsible for recognizing and interpreting the messages of intercellular communication known as "receptors". He specialized in the study of a family of receptors called "

G-protein G proteins, also known as guanine nucleotide-binding proteins, are a family of proteins that act as molecular switches inside cells, and are involved in transmitting signals from a variety of stimuli outside a cell to its interior. Their act ...

coupled receptors or GPCGs". He will discover some of them, including

oxytocin Oxytocin (Oxt or OT) is a peptide hormone and neuropeptide normally produced in the hypothalamus and released by the posterior pituitary. It plays a role in social bonding, reproduction, childbirth, and the period after childbirth. Oxytocin ...

vasopressin Human vasopressin, also called antidiuretic hormone (ADH), arginine vasopressin (AVP) or argipressin, is a hormone synthesized from the AVP gene as a peptide prohormone in neurons in the hypothalamus, and is converted to AVP. It then travel ...

, metabotropic brain

glutamate Glutamic acid (symbol Glu or E; the ionic form is known as glutamate) is an α-amino acid that is used by almost all living beings in the biosynthesis of proteins. It is a non-essential nutrient for humans, meaning that the human body can syn ...

and

serotonin Serotonin () or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is a monoamine neurotransmitter. Its biological function is complex and multifaceted, modulating mood, cognition, reward, learning, memory, and numerous physiological processes such as vomiting and vas ...

receptors. The latter modulate cognitive and emotional functions. The family of GPCRs is of considerable physiological importance. It is these receptors that capture light (ensuring vision), which recognize bitter, sweet or umami tastes, smells but also the majority of hormones and neurotransmitters1,2. Given their roles, these receptors are the direct or indirect target of more than 40% of drugs sold in pharmacies to treat hypertension, allergies, migraine, depression, parkinson's disease or pain.

Societies and academies

1992-1995 President of the Society of Neurosciences 1996: Member of EMBO He was elected a corresponding member of the French Academy of sciences in 1996 and a member in 2003. In 2017, he became a member of the Academy of sciences and letters of Montpellier

Awards and honours

* Rochat-Julliard Prize of the French Academy of sciences * Charles-Léopold Mayer Grand Prize of the Academy of Sciences * Lilly - ECNP Prize * Honorary Professor of Huazhong University (China) and recipient of the China and Friendship Award * Doctor Honoris Causa Université libre de Bruxelles

Decorations

* Chevalier of the

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

* Chevalier of the

Palmes Académiques Palmes is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Sir Brian Palmes, English landowner and politician *Sir Guy Palmes, English politician * Brian Palmes MP *Lieutenant General Francis Palmes Lieutenant-General Francis Palmes MP ( ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bockaert, Joel 1945 births Living people People from Roubaix French biologists Members of the French Academy of Sciences French neuroscientists French molecular biologists Research directors of the French National Centre for Scientific Research