Ellen Lumpkin
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Ellen Lumpkin is an American
neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, Biological neural network, neural circuits, and glia, and their Behavior, behavioral, biological, and psycholo ...
and professor of cell and developmental biology and neurobiology at the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
. She is also co-director of the MBL Advanced Training Course in Neurobiology, and adjunct associate professor of physiology and cellular biophysics and co-director of the Thompson Family Foundation Initiative in CIPN and Sensory Neuroscience at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
. Lumpkin's group studies genes, cells and signals that mediate the sensation of touch. Lumpkin is most interested in the
somatosensory system The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bod ...
and how it gives feedback to the brain on sensations such as pain or touch. She is known for her significant contributions in somatosensory system research.


Early life and education

Lumpkin was born in rural East Texas in an agriculturally-based town, where she spent her childhood years driving tractors and raising cows and pigs. In high school, she joined
Future Farmers of America The National FFA Organization or FFA is an American nonprofit career and technical student organization, which offers middle and high school classes that promote and support agricultural education. Future Farmers of Virginia (FFV) was founded in ...
, which fully funded her college education given that she majored in agriculture and went to a local state university. Lumpkin earned a B.S. in Animal Science at
Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...
in
Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...
. During her undergraduate years, Lumpkin studied the effects of stress on the health of animals, more specifically, how certain social or shipping conditions can lead to weight loss of pigs by the stress hormone
cortisol Cortisol is a steroid hormone in the glucocorticoid class of hormones and a stress hormone. When used as medication, it is known as hydrocortisone. Cortisol is produced in many animals, mainly by the ''zona fasciculata'' of the adrenal corte ...
. Lumpkin performed PhD training in neuroscience with A. James Hudspeth at University of Texas Southwestern and the
Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a Private university, private Medical research, biomedical Research university, research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and pro ...
.


Career and research

Lumpkin worked at Columbia University as an associate professor and researcher for 11 years. She now does research at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
in the Molecular and Cell Biology department studying the
somatosensory system The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bod ...
. Lumpkin's lab studies the somatosensory pathways that encode various stimuli like touch, vibration, and texture. Her research is on the skin's sensory neurons pick up tactile features of objects and how skin cells communicate with the neuro system to encode touch.
Merkel cells Merkel cells, also known as Merkel–Ranvier cells or tactile epithelial cells, are oval-shaped mechanoreceptors essential for light touch sensation and found in the skin of vertebrates. They are abundant in highly sensitive skin like that of the ...
are found in clusters called touch domes, which are then connected to neuronal networks. Lumpkin studies how these cells respond to the sensation of touch by sensing shape, form, and texture. Ellen Lumpkin and her team discovered the specialization of Merkel cells involved in encoding different aspects of the sensation of touch. Her team discovered that Merkel cells have fast, mechanically activated ion channels, they are capable of sending information to activate sensory neurons, and the activity of Merkel cells is required during touch stimulation. These findings allowed her lab to conclude that Merkel cells are mechanosensory receptor cells, and she published a paper explaining these results in 2019. Her research has also disproved the common belief that Merkel cells are descended from the neural crest, instead showing that they originate in the skin


Awards

On January 15, 1999, she received the Runyon-Winchell Fellowship Award. She won the Schaefer Scholars Award in 2015. She currently serves as the Co-Director of the Thompson Family Foundation Initiative in CIPN & Sensory Neuroscience.


References

American neuroscientists Texas Tech University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Scientists from Texas American women scientists {{Improve categories, date=January 2022