Hitoshi Morikawa

Hitoshi Morikawa is an Associate Professor holding the M. June and J. Virgil Waggoner Professorship in Molecular Biology Neuroscience at the University of Texas at Austin, where he has been faculty since 2002. He directs the Morikawa Lab within the Neuroscience Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Graduate Programs, focusing on neural mechanisms of addiction and reward learning.

Dr. Morikawa received his M.D. from Kyoto University in Japan in 1990 and completed clinical training in anesthesiology before pursuing basic research. He earned his Ph.D. in anesthesiology & neuropharmacology in 1999, followed by three years of postdoctoral training at the Vollum Institute in Portland, Oregon, working in John Williams' lab. His research career has evolved from studying opioid receptor mechanisms to sophisticated investigations of the mesostriatal dopaminergic system.

His laboratory investigates neural plasticity in the mesostriatal dopaminergic system underlying reward-based learning and addiction development, with particular focus on calcium-dependent regulation of neuronal activity. Using brain slice electrophysiology, calcium imaging, UV photolysis of caged compounds, and behavioral assays combined with targeted pharmacological and viral interventions, his team links cellular and molecular processes to addictive behaviors in animal models. Recent work examines how daily life experiences (stress, diet, exercise) impact these processes to identify risk factors and therapeutic strategies for addiction, schizophrenia, and depression.

Dr. Morikawa's publication record spans over 50 articles, with recent work focusing on L-type calcium channel blockers like isradipine for addiction treatment, stress interactions with drug reward, and calcium signaling in dopamine neurons. His work shows consistent progression from cellular mechanisms to translational applications.

• Japan Scholarship Foundation Predoctoral Scholarship (1994-1997)
• Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (1998-1999)
• Uehara Memorial Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (1999-2000)

Dr. Morikawa actively mentors postdoctoral fellows including Saeideh Karimihaghighi and Alican Caglayan, and research assistants like Heather Wessel. His lab continues to recruit new researchers and investigate the cellular mechanisms driving addiction, with current work bridging molecular neuroscience with potential clinical applications for substance use disorders.