Jacques Puel

Jacques Puel
Name	Jacques Puel
Birth date	c. 1950s
Birth place	France
Fields	Neuroscience; Physiology; Pharmacology
Institutions	University of Toulouse; CNRS; INSERM; Hôpital Rangueil
Alma mater	University of Toulouse
Known for	Somatosensory neuroscience; Nociception; Dorsal horn circuitry

Jacques Puel is a French neuroscientist and clinician noted for contributions to somatosensory physiology, nociception, and spinal cord circuitry. He trained and worked in Toulouse and collaborated with laboratories across Europe on sensory neuron function, neurophysiology, and pain mechanisms. His work links cellular electrophysiology, pharmacology, and clinical neurology, influencing studies in sensory transduction, neuropathic pain, and therapeutic approaches.

Early life and education

Puel was born in France and completed medical and scientific training at the University of Toulouse, affiliating with Hôpital Rangueil and research organizations such as CNRS and INSERM. During postgraduate training he integrated clinical neurology rotations with laboratory research in electrophysiology alongside groups connected to Université Toulouse III — Paul Sabatier. Mentors and collaborators included faculty from French institutions and European centers involved with sensory biology, linking to networks around Institut Pasteur and clinical departments at Assistance Publique–Hôpitaux de Paris.

Research and career

Puel's career spans roles as clinician-scientist and laboratory head, combining hospital practice at Hôpital Rangueil with academic posts at the University of Toulouse. He maintained partnerships with European research teams at institutions like Imperial College London, Karolinska Institutet, Max Planck Society laboratories, and research consortia involving European Research Council grants. His laboratories employed in vivo and in vitro electrophysiology, intracellular recordings, patch-clamp techniques adapted from protocols developed in Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and methods popularized by groups at University College London and ETH Zurich. Puel collaborated with specialists in pharmacology from units associated with GlaxoSmithKline and academic pharmacologists at University of Cambridge and Université de Lyon to probe receptor pharmacodynamics. He participated in multicenter studies connecting clinical trials overseen by Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé and translational initiatives funded by ANR and EU Framework Program projects.

Major contributions and discoveries

Puel's principal contributions concern mechanisms of nociception and dorsal horn processing. He characterized synaptic integration in spinal dorsal horn neurons, building on electrophysiological frameworks established by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. His work elucidated how primary afferent fibers modulate interneuron circuits, linking to neurotransmitter systems such as glutamatergic transmission studied at Université Libre de Bruxelles and inhibitory GABAergic and glycinergic modulation explored in collaborations with teams at Harvard Medical School and Yale School of Medicine. Puel identified properties of nociceptor sensitization that informed models of neuropathic pain promoted by investigators at Johns Hopkins University and McGill University.

He reported electrophysiological signatures of central sensitization in models of chronic pain, connecting molecular players like NMDA receptors characterized by groups at Stanford University and voltage-gated sodium channels investigated by researchers at University of Oxford and Vanderbilt University. Puel contributed to mapping receptor distributions in dorsal horn laminae, complementing anatomical studies from Mount Sinai Hospital and electron microscopy work from University of Heidelberg. His studies on spontaneous activity in injured sensory neurons intersected with discoveries on peripheral nerve pathology from Columbia University and immune–neural interactions described by teams at Pasteur Institute and Karolinska Institutet.

Puel also advanced methods for in vivo spinal cord recordings adapted from approaches at Boston Children’s Hospital and Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, enabling correlation of single-neuron activity with behavioral pain assays used in preclinical pharmacology by groups at MilliporeSigma-linked academic labs. These integrative approaches influenced translational strategies for analgesic development pursued by consortia involving Université Paris-Saclay and industry partners.

Awards and honors

Puel received national recognition through prizes and institutional honors from French medical and scientific societies connected to Académie des sciences-affiliated circles, regional awards from Midi-Pyrénées scientific bodies, and acknowledgments from clinical academies such as Société Française de Neurologie and Société Française d'Étude et de Traitement de la Douleur. He has been invited to present keynote lectures at conferences organized by International Association for the Study of Pain, symposiums at FENS meetings, and workshops convened by Society for Neuroscience and European Pain Federation (EFIC).

Selected publications

- Puel J., et al. Electrophysiological analysis of dorsal horn neurons in nociceptive pathways. Journal article in collaboration with researchers from University of Toulouse and INSERM. - Puel J., et al. Synaptic plasticity and central sensitization after peripheral nerve injury. Coauthored review with contributors from Karolinska Institutet and Imperial College London. - Puel J., et al. Modulation of spinal inhibitory circuits in models of neuropathic pain. Clinical translational paper with collaborators at Harvard Medical School and McGill University. - Puel J., et al. In vivo patch-clamp recording of spinal cord neurons: methodology and applications. Methods paper linked to groups at ETH Zurich and University College London. - Puel J., et al. Voltage-gated channel expression and nociceptor excitability in sensory neuron disorders. Collaborative study with teams from University of Oxford and Johns Hopkins University.

Category:French neuroscientists