The role of TRPA1 receptor in toxicology

Dr. Jordt trained as a biochemist at the Free University of Berlin from 1989-94, continuing with doctoral studies on ion channel mechanisms in the lung and brain, receiving his Ph.D. in 1997. In 1998, Dr. Jordt began postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Dr. David Julius at the University of California, San Francisco. He contributed to breakthrough discoveries in pain research by identifying receptors for pain-inducing natural products and thermal stimuli.

In 2005, Dr. Jordt established his independent laboratory at Yale University, where he discovered TRP ion channels as targets of smoke irritants, chlorine gas, tear gas agents, and industrial chemicals causing pain and lung injury. He relocated his lab to Duke University in 2014.

At Duke he continued identifying and developing treatment interventions for chemical injuries, funded by the NIH Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats program. Other projects focus on the role of the chemosensory innervation in environmental allergic conditions (asthma, poison ivy contact dermatitis) and on the toxicity of flavor chemicals in tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes.