Ramón Latorre de la Cruz

Premio México de Ciencia y Tecnología

2007

The originality and international significance of Ramón Latorre’s research in the field of biophysics, especially his seminal contributions toward understanding the behavior of ionic channels in neurons and muscular fibers, were crucial to select him as the recipient of the Premio México de Ciencia y Tecnología 2007 [2007 Mexico Award for Science and Technology].

Currently, he is Professor of Neurosciences at the Universidad de Valparaiso [Valparaiso University], Chile. He graduated as a Biochemist in 1966 and obtained his PhD in Biology 1969 at the Universidad de Chile [University of Chile]. After this, he obtained a scholarship for a three year work stay at the Biophysics Laboratory of the National Institutes of Health of the United States. At the end of this period, he returned to Chile, to work as Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Sciences of the Universidad de Chile. In 1972 he went back to the United States as Visiting Scientist at the Department of Physiology of Duke University, and later on, he was appointed Assistant Professor at the Department of Physiological and Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of Chicago.

In 1977 he moved to the School of Medicine of Harvard University where, in 1981, was appointed Associate Professor. During this time he demonstrated, on muscle tissue, the existence of “ionic channels”, an almost simultaneous discovery with other scientific teams.

In 1983 he went back to his own country and was appointed Professor of Cellular Physiology at the Facultad de Ciencias [Faculty of Sciences] of the Universidad de Chile [University of Chile], and the following year he founded, together with Claudio Teitelboim, the Centro de Estudios Científicos (CECS) [Center of Scientific Studies].

The ionic channels

Considered to be his most important scientific contribution, the discovery of ionic channels brought him international recognition.

These molecules are a vehicle between the external world and neurons, between neurons themselves and between nerves and muscles. Ionic channels make sure that the information we get from the outside world is adequately interpreted by the central nervous system. Ionic channels are capable of changing the mechanics of a muscular fiber or inducing the liberation of a hormone. The language of these channels is an electric language, which they express by allowing or impeding the flow of molecules having a positive or negative charge.

Thus they are directly responsible, according to Latorre, of saying “YES” or “NO” to communications between neurons, to muscular contraction, to hormone secretion and to many more cellular functions.

There are hundreds of ionic channels in a cell, making their study a complex and imprecise undertaking. This is where de Latorre’s creativity springs forth, as he conceives a way to isolate these channels, achieving the almost unthinkable task of having one single channel under the scrutiny of the researcher’s eye.

A channel incorporated into a membrane that mimics the cell’s membrane is really a lipid bilayer that, in addition to having the advantage of being artificial, it may be modified at will.
Adoption of this experimental methodology allowed spectacular advancements in the study of channel biophysics, barely comparable to what Neher and Sakmann (1991 Nobel Prize) developed for the study of single ion channels in microfragments of cellular membrane.

Ramón Latorre’s name is forever linked to the history of ion channel studies.

Significance and school

Latorre’s work had a major impact on the field of ionic channels and has been published in the most important journals, as well as on those considered to be the archetypes for key discoveries: Nature and Science. His first article in Nature, in 1969, includes results of his doctoral dissertation and was developed entirely in Chile with only two authors: Latorre and Hidalgo. Five more articles published by this influential journal confirm the significance of his work.

Ramón Latorre has created a school of thought. He has always enjoyed the presence of students in his laboratory and, is a refounder of the biology doctorate program; over 40 researchers have been formed under his tutelage or have benefited from his direct collaboration.

Before going back to Chile, Ramón Latorre was appointed scientific attaché of his country in Italy. This distinction did not distract him from his academic work, for he continues to develop a brilliant scientific career as evidenced by the publication ―as first author or correspondent― of four papers in 2007, in the better known journals of the area.
All this work has earned for him, naturally, numerous distinctions: guest lecturer in the best American and European universities, member of the editorial committee of the best physiology journals, member of the most important scientific academies of Latin America and of the United States National Academy of Sciences. He received a Guggenheim fellowship, the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Award, and Chile’s National Award in Natural Sciences, among other.

The national and international significance of Ramón Latorre’s seminal work is undeniable. The discoveries and innovative ideas of Latorre are amply recognized and his work has over 8,600 citations. He is Chile’s scientist with the largest number of citations and surely, one of Latin America’s most cited scientists.