Michael Smolka

Prof. Michael Smolka holds dual appointments as Full Professor (W2) of Systems Neuroscience at TU Dresden Medical Faculty and Co-opted Professor at TU Dresden Faculty of Psychology. He leads the Section of Systems Neuroscience within the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. His research focuses on neuro-cognitive mechanisms underlying addiction, decision-making processes, and brain imaging methodologies. Key contributions include studying nicotine dependence, alcohol-induced neural impairments, and adolescent neurodevelopment.

Education: Dr. med. from Freie Universität Berlin (1996), Habilitation in Psychiatry from Universität Heidelberg (2006). Professional milestones include leadership roles in Collaborative Research Centers SFB 940 and TRR 265 investigating volition control and addiction mechanisms. Awards include the W.E.-Heraeus Foundation thesis award and Human Brain Mapping Editor's Choice Award.

Research interests span computational models of addiction, reward processing networks, and longitudinal cohort studies. His 320+ publications (h-index 54) explore topics like alcohol use disorder neurobiology and adolescent brain maturation. Current projects include developing machine learning tools for psychiatric nosology and real-time addiction interventions.

• Editorial roles: Addiction Biology (since 2008), Sucht (since 2008)
• Key grants: Spokesperson roles in 2 major CRCs (SFB 940/265)
• Labs: Active in Dresden's Systems Neuroscience lab and transdisciplinary addiction research consortia