Summary
Philippe Ascher (28 July 1936 – 4 October 2022) was a French neuroscientist who was professor emeritus at the Université Paris Diderot.[1] He devoted his research mainly to the characterization of cholinergic and glutamatergic neurotransmitter receptors. He was a corresponding member of the French Academy of Sciences since 1990.[2]
Philippe Ascher | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 July 1936 |
| Died | 4 October 2022 (aged 86) |
| Nationality | French |
| Citizenship | France |
| Alma mater | École normale supérieure |
| Spouse | |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neuroscience |
| Institutions | CNRS |
Biography edit
Education edit
Ascher was a student at the École normale supérieure from 1955 to 1959 and passed the Agrégation of biology in his final year,[3] a highly competitive postgraduate examination which serves as a national ranking of students. Then he devoted his thesis to a problem of organization of nerves (the analysis of the circuits involved in the startle reaction of the anaesthetized cat to chloralose). He became a Doctor of Science in 1965.[4]
Career edit
Philippe Ascher was interested in the ionic mechanisms associated with the action of neurotransmitters. On Aplysian neurons, he studied the inhibitory and excitatory effects of dopamine, and the rapid excitatory actions of acetylcholine. In the study of mammalian neurons, he was a highly influential and key contributor to the early characterization of L-glutamate receptors, particularly those activated by N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA receptors). In 1984, together with Linda Nowak, he discovered the role magnesium ions play in the functioning of these receptors. In 1987, Jon Johnson and Ascher discovered the modulating role of glycine in gating NMDA receptor channels. He later studied the role of NMDA receptors in the plasticity of cerebellar synapses.[4]
In 1965 he met a post-doctoral student named JacSue Kehoe, whom he married in 1967 and with whom he had a scientific collaboration throughout his career.
In 1971 at the École normale supérieure (ENS), he founded the Neurobiology Laboratory, of which he was director until 2001. Then in 1992,[5] still at the ENS, he succeeded Pierre Joliot as head of the Biology Department (until 1999).
In 1992 he won the Richard Lounsbery Award jointly with Henri Korn for "their discoveries of the mechanisms of synaptic transmission. Philippe Ascher furthered knowledge regarding the properties of glutamate receptors which play an important role in trials, and Henri Korn brought to light the elementary liberation of neurotransmitter in quanta form in the central nervous system of vertebrates."[6]
Ascher's later research focused on a synapse in the spinal cord that uses both acetylcholine and glutamate.
In 2003, having reached official retirement age with his wife JacSue, he joined Alain Marty who heads the Laboratory of Cerebral Physiology at the University of Paris-Descartes. Since 2019, he has been Professor Emeritus at the SPPIN laboratory (Saint-Pères Paris Institute for Neurosciences)[7] of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, also at the University of Paris-Descartes.
Personal life edit
Ascher married in 1967 the American researcher JacSue Kehoe (died in 2019) with whom he had two sons. He died on 4 October 2022, at the age of 86.[8]
Awards and honours edit
Diplomas, titles and awards edit
- 1965: PhD Thesis
- 1992: Richard-Lounsbery Award from the National Academy of Sciences and the French Academy of Sciences[6]
Extra-academic distinctions edit
- 1989: elected to the pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences Academia Europaea (physiology and neuroscience section)[9]
- 1990: Knight of the Legion of Honor[10]
- 1990: Elected correspondent of the French Academy of Sciences (Molecular and Cellular Biology, Genomics Section)[2]
References edit
- ^ Dr Philippe ASCHER. Brain Physiology Lab. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Philippe Ascher | Liste des membres de l'Académie des sciences / A | Listes par ordre alphabétique | Listes des membres | Membres | Nous connaître". www.academie-sciences.fr (in French). Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- ^ "Les agrégés de l'enseignement secondaire. Répertoire 1809-1960 | Ressources numériques en histoire de l'éducation". rhe.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- ^ a b "Notice biographique de Philippe Ascher, Correspondant de l'Académie des sciences" (PDF). Académie des Sciences (in French).
- ^ BILLAUD, Baptiste; FLAMENT, Séverine; MAILLOUX, Aude; MONTIER, Florie; PARANTHOEN, Céline; ZAOUCHE, Redha (2018). École normale supérieure (1863-2014), Répertoire numérique détaillé des cotes 20170161/1-20170161/933 (in French). Archives nationales (France). p. 92.
- ^ a b Richard Lounsbery Award. National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
- ^ "Philippe ASCHER | SPPIN – CNRS UMR 8003". www.sppin.fr. 16 February 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
- ^ "Hommage à Philippe Ascher". CNRS. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
- ^ "Academy of Europe: Ascher Philippe". www.ae-info.org. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- ^ ORDRE DE LA LEGION D'HONNEUR Décret du 31 décembre 1989 portant promotion et nomination (in French), retrieved 5 May 2020