David Julius PhD

David Julius, Ph.D., a professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has been elected a Trustee of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the largest private biomedical research institution in the United States. His appointment will begin on January 1, 2021.

Julius, a biochemist, and molecular physiologist studies the molecular mechanisms underlying sensations such as heat, cold, and pain. His lab has examined menthol, wasabi, capsaicin (the ingredient that makes chili peppers hot), and other natural products to discover how sensory nerves detect temperature, itch, and other sensations.

Julius considers mentorship an essential and fulfilling aspect of his career. In his 30 years on the faculty at UCSF, where he now serves as the Morris Herzstein Chair in Molecular Biology and Medicine and professor and chair of physiology, Julius has trained more than 40 graduate students and postdocs. Prior to 1990, Julius worked as a postdoc in the lab of HHMI Investigator Richard Axel at Columbia University. Julius earned his doctoral degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1984 and his bachelor’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977.