Pierre Magistretti

Pierre Magistretti is a Professor and Director of the Brain Mind Institute at the Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, with a joint appointment at the University of Lausanne Medical School and Hospitals (UNIL-CHUV). He has held several leadership roles, including Co-Director of the Brain Mind Institute (2005–2008), Director of the Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience (since 2004), and Co-Chairman of the Department of Physiology at the University of Lausanne Medical School (2001–2004). His academic career includes a Vice-Dean position (1996–2000) and a long tenure as a Professor of Physiology (1988–2004).

Magistretti earned his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Biology from the University of California, San Diego in 1982.

His research focuses on neuroenergetics, neuro-glia interactions, brain metabolism, and neuronal plasticity. He also investigates glial plasticity, cellular imaging techniques (including digital holographic microscopy), and functional brain imaging. His work bridges neuroscience with psychoanalysis, exploring the dialogue between these disciplines.

Magistretti has received several prestigious honors, including the Theodore-Ott Prize from the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (1997), election to Academia Europaea (2001), and the Emil Kraepelin Guest Professorship at the Max Planck Institute für Psychiatry (2002). He also served as an International Chair at the Collège de France in Paris (2007–2008).

Magistretti’s academic contributions include leadership in research and education, though specific details on advised students or grants are not provided in the available texts.

He leads the Brain Mind Institute at EPFL and the Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience at UNIL-CHUV, fostering interdisciplinary research in neuroscience.