Dr. Padrón is senior investigator in the Center of Structural Biology at the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC), Caracas, Venezuela. He received his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at the Central University of Venezuela and his Ph.D. in physiology and biophysics from IVIC. He did postdoctoral work with Hugh Huxley at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England. He is visiting professor at the Department of Cell Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Padrón is a member of the Latin America Academy of Sciences and was elected fellow of the Academy of Sciences of the Developing World in 2004. His honors include the 1991 Polar Prize in Biology; National Council for Science and Technology (CONICIT and FONACIT) biology prizes; the 2005 National Fund for Science, Technology, and Innovation prize; the 2008 Rafael Rangel Scientific Prize, awarded by the State of Trujillo, Venezuela; and the 2008 National Science and Technology Prize, awarded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Venezuela. This is his third HHMI award.

By focusing on the molecular mechanism of myosin-linked regulation, Raúl Padrón investigates how thick filaments of striated muscle are activated during muscle contraction.