Christian Lüscher (born April 13, 1963) is a Swiss

neurobiologist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, neural circuits, and glia, and their behavioral, biological, and psychological roles in health and disease. ...

and full professor at the Department of Basic Neurosciences of the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

. He is also an attending in neurology at the

Geneva University Hospital The Geneva University Hospitals (, HUG) is one of the five university hospitals of Switzerland and the largest one in the country. It is one of the largest hospitals in Europe. First founded in 1535, the creation of the HUG dates back to 19 ...

. Lüscher is known for his contributions in the field

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

, particularly for establishing links of causality between the drug-evoked

synaptic plasticity In neuroscience, synaptic plasticity is the ability of synapses to Chemical synapse#Synaptic strength, strengthen or weaken over time, in response to increases or decreases in their activity. Since memory, memories are postulated to be represent ...

and

adaptive behavior Adaptive behavior is behavior that enables a person (usually used in the context of children) to cope in their environment with greatest success and least conflict with others. This is a term used in the areas of psychology and special education ...

in mice.

Early life

Lüscher was born in Bern,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and grew up there in the lake of Constance area.

Education

Lüscher studied

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

in Lausanne and Berne and obtained his federal diploma in 1990. In his

MD degree A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

, he studied the effects of axon morphology on action potential propagation. After clinical residencies at the

Inselspital The Inselspital, also named the University Hospital of Bern (German: ''Universitätsspital Bern''), located in Bern, is one of the five university hospitals of Switzerland. It is associated with the University of Bern. The hospital is operated ...

in Bern and the University Hospital in Geneva, he left for a postdoctoral fellowship at

UCSF The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life ...

(Advisor Roger Nicoll). He returned to University of Geneva with a career development award of the

Swiss National Science Foundation The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF, German: , SNF; French: , FNS; Italian: ) is a science research support organisation mandated by the Swiss Federal Government. The Swiss National Science Foundation was established under private law b ...

, where he first became associated (2003) and then

full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

(2009)

Research

Lüscher studies how addictive

drugs A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...

alter synaptic transmission in the

reward system The reward system (the mesocorticolimbic circuit) is a group of neural structures responsible for incentive salience (i.e., "wanting"; desire or craving for a reward and motivation), associative learning (primarily positive reinforcement and c ...

of the mouse brain. He has proposed a mechanistic classification of addictive drugs and developed

optogenetic Optogenetics is a biological technique to control the activity of neurons or other cell types with light. This is achieved by expression of light-sensitive ion channels, pumps or enzymes specifically in the target cells. On the level of individ ...

stimulation protocols that when applied in a mouse model of addiction can erase adaptive behavior. In his most recent work he explores the molecular basis of individual vulnerability to addiction and launched several translational projects. He has initiated the OptoDBS conference series, seeking to emulate optogenetic innervations with

deep brain stimulation Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a type of neurostimulation therapy in which an implantable pulse generator is stereotactic surgery, surgically implanted subcutaneous tissue, below the skin of the chest and connected by Lead (electronics), leads ...

. Lüscher also studies the circuits underlying hedonic feeding. He has observed that suppression of activity of D1 receptor expression medium spiny neurons that project to the lateral hypothalamus (LH) authorizes food intake. Moreover synaptic depression of GABA transmission in the LH leads to overeating. the same circuits are also controlling the social transmission of a food safety signal. Among others, Lüscher has mentored the following scientists, who are now independent investigators: Camilla Bellone (Associate Professor

), Meaghan Creed (Assistant Professor,

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

), Manuel Mameli (Associate Professor,

University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; ) in Lausanne, Switzerland, was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second-oldest in Switzerland, and one of the oldest universities ...

), Tifei Yuan (Associate Professor,

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) is a public university in Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 98 ...

, CN)

Awards and honors

*2023 Peter Seeburg Integrative Neuroscience Prize *2022 Chica and Heinz Schaller Foundation Award in Translational Neuroscience Chica and Heinz Schaller Foundation *2020 ERC

European Research Council The European Research Council (ERC) is a public body for funding of scientific and technological research conducted within the European Union (EU). Established by the European Commission in 2007, the ERC is composed of an independent Scientific ...

Advanced Grant *2020 Otto Naegeli Prize *2019 Schaefer Research Scholar, Columbia University *2017 Théodore Ott Prize of Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences *2016 Betty and David Koetser Award for Brain Research *2015- Member

American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Founded in 1961, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) is a professional organization of leading brain and behavior scientists. The principal functions of the College are research and education. Their goals in research are to offer ...

*2015- Member Senate of Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences *2013 ERC

Advanced Grant *2010

Cloëtta Prize The Cloëtta Prize (; ) is a Swiss distinction to honour personalities who have distinguished themselves in biomedical research. Worth 50,000 Swiss francs, it has been awarded annually by the Max Cloëtta Foundation (based in Zurich), since 19 ...

Key papers

* * * * * * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Luscher, Christian 1963 births Living people Academic staff of the University of Geneva Swiss biologists Scientists from Bern Swiss neuroscientists