Bertrand Coste

Bertrand Coste is a CNRS Researcher at the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory (Aix-Marseille University/CNRS), specializing in mechanosensation and ion channel biology. He developed pioneering techniques to study mechanically activated ion channels, notably discovering the PIEZO1 and PIEZO2 channels with Prof. Ardem Patapoutian, which contributed to the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. His current work focuses on pain perception mechanisms and cardiovascular functions of PIEZO channels.

Education: Completed his PhD at the Laboratoire de neurophysiologie cellulaire in Marseille, followed by postdoctoral research at the Scripps Research Institute, CA (2007–2012).

Research Interests: Molecular basis of mechanosensation, mechanosensitive ion channels (PIEZO family), pain signaling, and cardiovascular physiology. His studies bridge molecular neurobiology with clinical applications in chronic pain management and genetic disorders linked to mechanosensory defects.

Publications highlight advancements in PIEZO channel structure-function relationships, their roles in sensory perception, and contributions to pathologies like hereditary stomatocytosis and arthrogryposis. His work integrates genetics, cell biology, and biophysics to decode mechanical signaling pathways.

Received the Brixham Foundation 2022 Award (Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale) for research on pain mechanisms. Collaborates with interdisciplinary teams at the CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, advancing translational neuroscience initiatives.