Professor David Adams is internationally recognised as a leader in membrane physiology and neuroscience research, with a focus on the function and modulation of membrane receptors and ion channels, primarily through molecular biology and electrophysiological recording techniques. Over the past 25 years, Professor Adams has characterised numerous peptides, particularly conotoxins derived from the venom of cone snails, as tools for studying ion channel structure and function, as well as potential therapeutics for treating chronic neuropathic and visceral pain. Professor Adams’s discovery of analgesic conotoxins that target G protein-coupled receptors, which in turn modulate the function of voltage-gated calcium and potassium channels, offers a promising approach for the development of non-opioid drugs for pain treatment.