Simon Luckman

Simon Luckman is the Brackenbury Chair of Physiology in the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology & Gastroenterology at the University of Manchester's Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health. He leads research on neural mechanisms regulating energy balance, with particular expertise in brain circuits controlling appetite, body weight, and metabolic homeostasis.

Dr. Luckman earned his BSc from the University of Bath (1982-1986) and PhD from the University of Cambridge (1986-1990). His academic journey includes a Wellcome Trust Fellowship in Bordeaux, France (1990-1991), Associate Researcher position at Cambridge (1991-1994), and BBSRC Advanced Fellowship at The Babraham Institute (1994-2000). He joined Manchester in 2000 as a Lecturer, progressing to Senior Lecturer (2003), Reader (2006), Professor of Integrative Biology (2008-2015), and finally the Brackenbury Chair (2015-present).

His laboratory investigates how brain centers integrate sensory, emotional, and hormonal information to regulate energy balance. Research spans from single-cell electrophysiology to whole-animal behavior, with particular focus on how brain circuits involved in homeostasis and reward respond to different stimuli. His work has revealed new pathways integrating short-term satiety signals with longer-term body weight regulators, providing insights into metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes. The lab employs diverse techniques including gene expression analysis, histology, functional MRI, and behavioral assessment using obesity and diabetes models.

Dr. Luckman's research portfolio demonstrates consistent focus on neural regulation of metabolism, with recent publications highlighting brain-immune interactions, hormone signaling pathways (particularly GLP-1 systems), and specific neural circuits involving oxytocin and BDNF. His work bridges basic neuroscience with translational applications for metabolic disorders.

Dr. Luckman has delivered numerous invited talks at prestigious conferences including the Banbury Meeting at Cold Spring Harbor (2019), multiple Neurobiology of Obesity meetings (2014-2018), and the Keystone Symposium (2015). His research has attracted significant media attention, including NEW SCIENTIST coverage of brain mapping in mice and its implications for understanding appetite regulation during pain.

His multidisciplinary laboratory investigates the complex interplay between brain function and metabolic health, with potential applications for developing novel therapeutic approaches for obesity and diabetes.