John Lee Spudich

Known internationally for work in photobiology and photochemistry. Discovered the first photosensory receptor in microorganisms (sensory rhodopsin-I), further showed microbial sensory rhodopsins to be widespread throughout archaeal, eubacterial and eukaryotic species, and demonstrated that related proteins capture solar energy in oceans. His discoveries and elucidation of the photochemistry of algal light-gated ion channels used for photocontrol of neuron firing laid the chemical foundation for the technology of optogenetics. Findings include seminal discoveries in membrane receptors and molecular mechanisms of phototransduction.