Lebanese President Michel Aoun awarded Lebanon-born Ardem Patapoutian the national Order of Merit on Wednesday, in recognition of his scientific and medical achievements.
Dr Patapoutian and his colleague David Julius were named the winners of the Nobel Prize for Medicine on Monday after making breakthrough findings on how people sense heat, cold and touch.
Mr Aoun said Dr Patapoutian’s achievement reflected the potential of Lebanon and its people.
“I received with pride the news of your winning of the 2021 Nobel Prize for Medicine,” Mr Aoun said.
“All of humanity will be grateful for the results of your medical research, which represents an important contribution to scientific efforts aimed at promoting prevention and treatment in the health field, and for a more comprehensive understanding of the functions of the human body.”
Dr Patapoutian, a professor of neuroscience at Scripps Research Institute in California and an American University of Beirut alumnus, left Lebanon in the 1980s, a few months after being captured and held by armed militants.
He is the first AUB alumnus to win a Nobel prize.
“I remember with fondness: my sports club where I played basketball [not well, see height above] and table tennis [local champ!], our trips to the Mediterranean Sea and the wooded mountains surrounding Beirut, and the beautiful campus of the American University of Beirut, where I attended one year of undergraduate classes as a pre-med major,” Dr Patapoutian wrote in an autobiography for the Kavli Prize.
AUB said it was proud to have Dr Patapoutian receive the Nobel prize.
“I was delighted and proud that a young man who grew up in and around AUB and started his academic career at the American University of Beirut had won the Nobel prize,” AUB President Fadlo Khuri told The National.
“This is the first Armenian Lebanese, or Lebanese of any type, resident of Lebanon to win a Nobel prize of any kind. And it is fitting that he started his scientific academic journey at the greatest university, not only of Lebanon, but in the region.”
Dr Khuri said Dr Patapoutian's achievement sends a message of hope to the world that “determined and talented individuals can overcome challenges, rebuild their lives and go on to achieve the ultimate in discoveries and global recognition.
“The message is that people can overcome the many obstacles that Ardem endured, including the closure of his beloved school, the immigration of much of the Armenian community from Lebanon during the war, and especially, being kidnapped after a happy and fulfilling first year at AUB,” Dr Khuri said.
Dr Patapoutian was a chemistry major at AUB between 1985 and 1986 and was placed on the dean’s honour list, the university said.
Last year, Dr Patapoutian shared with Dr Julius the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience. The two Americans also won the Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Research in 2019.
Dr Patapoutian’s latest research identified genes that control sensitivity to touch and have a role in how people sense motion and how the body deals with blood pressure, respiration and bladder control.
He said his research had shone light on fundamental human behaviour, which many people rarely question. “In science, many times, it’s the things that we take for granted that are of high interest,” he said.
“Being in the field of sensing touch and pain, this was kind of the big elephant in the room … it was a difficult question to answer.”
The years Ramadan fell in May
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
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Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
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UAE gold medallists:
Omar Al Suweidi (46kg), Khaled Al Shehhi (50kg), Khalifa Humaid Al Kaabi (60kg), Omar Al Fadhli (62kg), Mohammed Ali Al Suweidi (66kg), Omar Ahmed Al Hosani (73), all in the U18’s, and Khalid Eskandar Al Blooshi (56kg) in the U21s.
RESULTS
Dubai Kahayla Classic – Group 1 (PA) $750,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
Winner: Deryan, Ioritz Mendizabal (jockey), Didier Guillemin (trainer).
Godolphin Mile – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
Dubai Gold Cup – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (Turf) 3,200m
Winner: Subjectivist, Joe Fanning, Mark Johnston
Al Quoz Sprint – Group 1 (TB) $1million (T) 1,200m
Winner: Extravagant Kid, Ryan Moore, Brendan Walsh
UAE Derby – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Rebel’s Romance, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
Dubai Golden Shaheen – Group 1 (TB) $1.5million (D) 1,200m
Winner: Zenden, Antonio Fresu, Carlos David
Dubai Turf – Group 1 (TB) $4million (T) 1,800m
Winner: Lord North, Frankie Dettori, John Gosden
Dubai Sheema Classic – Group 1 (TB) $5million (T) 2,410m
Winner: Mishriff, John Egan, John Gosden
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
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ENGLAND%20SQUAD
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The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
First-round leaderbaord
-5 C Conners (Can)
-3 B Koepka (US), K Bradley (US), V Hovland (Nor), A Wise (US), S Horsfield (Eng), C Davis (Aus);
-2 C Morikawa (US), M Laird (Sco), C Tringale (US)
Selected others: -1 P Casey (Eng), R Fowler (US), T Hatton (Eng)
Level B DeChambeau (US), J Rose (Eng)
1 L Westwood (Eng), J Spieth (US)
3 R McIlroy (NI)
4 D Johnson (US)
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh289,000