LOS ANGELES — On April 15, 600 guests assembled at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel to formally congratulate the first Nobel Prize winner of Armenian descent Ardem Sarkis Patapoutian, PhD. The pioneering scientist was recognized for his breakthrough research in the field of sensory biology, deemed by the international scientific community as a gamechanger in treating conditions related to touch, pain, blood pressure, and other clinical applications.
The AGBU Central Board, in conjunction with the AGBU Western Region, also paid tribute to Dr. Patapoutian’s parents Sarkis Patapoutian, an accountant and prolific writer, poet and translator under the pen name Sarkis Vahakn, and Haigouhi Adjemian Patapoutian, an educator and former principal of the AGBU Demirdjian Elementary School of Lebanon, where the couple’s three children received a quality elementary education. AGBU President Berge Setrakian presented them with the organization’s President’s Award in appreciation of their lifelong dedicated service and contributions to AGBU and the Armenian Nation in the fields of literature and education.
The gala took place on the same day as the 117th anniversary of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU). Throughout the evening, various speakers acknowledged the century-old AGBU mission pursued by chapters and offices across the globe, including the Western region of the United States, encompassing California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas.
Among the many distinguished well-wishers present were California State Senator Anthony Portantino representing the 23rd district, Laura Friedman, the California State Assembly Member from the 44th district, California Assemblyman from the 34th district Adrin Nazarian and his wife Diana, and President of the Los Angeles City Council Paul Krekorian and his wife Tamar. Other congratulatory messages were sent in absentia, with official citations from Los Angeles County Supervisor (Fifth District) Kathryn Barger and U.S. Congressman Adam B. Schiff.
Nazeli Hambartsumyan, the consular at the Consulate for the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles and Armenian Ambassador and Former Consul General of Armenia in Los Angeles Dr. Armen Baibourtian and