Eric J. Nestler
Encyclopedia
Eric J. Nestler, M.D., Ph.D., is the Nash Family Professor of Neuroscience, Chairman of the Department of Neuroscience and Director of the Friedman Brain Institute at the Mount Sinai Medical Center
in New York
. His work in neuropsychopharmacology
has been instrumental in forming a molecular approach to psychiatry
and has furthered the understanding of the molecular basis of both depression and drug addiction, using animal models to study the way drug use or stress affects the brain
.
Dr. Nestler is the author (with Dennis S. Charney
) of Neurobiology of Mental Illness (ISBN 0195189809), of Molecular Neuropharmacology (with Steven E. Hyman and Robert C. Malenka; ISBN 9780071481274), and more than 400 chapters and peer-reviewed publications. He is active in six research projects funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse
and the National Institute of Mental Health
.
, his Ph.D.
and his M.D.
from Yale University
. He completed his residency in psychiatry at both McLean Hospital
in Massachusetts
and Yale in 1987, then served as the Director of the Division of Molecular Psychiatry
at Yale until 2000. He later served as Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
. In 2008, he joined the staff at Mount Sinai.
. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression
and of the International Mental Health Research Organization, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the McKnight Endowment Fund in Neuroscience. He currently serves on the National Advisory Drug Abuse Council for the National Institute on Drug Abuse and was elected to the Institute of Medicine
in 1998 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 2005.
(1987), the McKnight Scholar Award (1989), the Jordi-Folch-Pi Memorial Award from the American Society of Neurochemistry (1990), the Efron Award of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (1994), the Pasarow Foundation Award for Neuropsychiatric Research (1998), the NARSAD Established Investigator Award (1996), the Bristol-Myers Squibb
Freedom to Discover Neuroscience Research Grant (2004), the Patricia S. Goldman-Rakic Award and the Falcone Prize both from NARSAD (2008, 2009), and the Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health from the Institute of Medicine (2010). He received an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University in Sweden in 2011.
Mount Sinai Hospital, New York
Mount Sinai Hospital, founded in 1852, is one of the oldest and largest teaching hospitals in the United States. In 2011-2012, Mount Sinai Hospital was ranked as one of America's best hospitals by U.S...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. His work in neuropsychopharmacology
Neuropsychopharmacology
Neuropsychopharmacology is an interdisciplinary science related to psychopharmacology and fundamental neuroscience...
has been instrumental in forming a molecular approach to psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
and has furthered the understanding of the molecular basis of both depression and drug addiction, using animal models to study the way drug use or stress affects the brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
.
Dr. Nestler is the author (with Dennis S. Charney
Dennis S. Charney
Dennis S. Charney is an American biological psychiatrist and researcher, one of the world's leading experts in the neurobiology and treatment of mood and anxiety disorders...
) of Neurobiology of Mental Illness (ISBN 0195189809), of Molecular Neuropharmacology (with Steven E. Hyman and Robert C. Malenka; ISBN 9780071481274), and more than 400 chapters and peer-reviewed publications. He is active in six research projects funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse
National Institute on Drug Abuse
The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a United States federal-government research institute whose mission is to "lead the Nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction."-History:...
and the National Institute of Mental Health
National Institute of Mental Health
The National Institute of Mental Health is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health...
.
Education
Dr. Nestler, a graduate of Herricks High School (New Hyde Park, N.Y.), received his B.A.Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
, his Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
and his M.D.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. He completed his residency in psychiatry at both McLean Hospital
McLean Hospital
McLean Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts.It is noted for its clinical staff expertise and ground-breaking neuroscience research...
in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and Yale in 1987, then served as the Director of the Division of Molecular Psychiatry
Molecular Psychiatry
Molecular Psychiatry is a scientific journal published by Nature Publishing Group.It publishes papers in biological psychiatry and, e.g., about psychiatric genetics...
at Yale until 2000. He later served as Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center is one of the biomedical research institutions of the University of Texas System, incorporating three degree-granting institutions, four affiliated hospitals, including Parkland Memorial, the teaching hospital, and biomedical research...
. In 2008, he joined the staff at Mount Sinai.
Career
Nestler has served on the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, on the National Advisory Mental Health Council for the National Institute of Mental Health, and as Council Member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (for which he served as president in 2011) and the Society for NeuroscienceSociety for Neuroscience
The Society for Neuroscience is a professional society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., for basic scientists and physicians around the world whose research is focused on the study of the brain and nervous system.-History:...
. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression
NARSAD
NARSAD, or National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, is a private, not-for-profit public charity. It is the largest donor-supported organization that supports research on brain and behavior disorders...
and of the International Mental Health Research Organization, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the McKnight Endowment Fund in Neuroscience. He currently serves on the National Advisory Drug Abuse Council for the National Institute on Drug Abuse and was elected to the Institute of Medicine
Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences...
in 1998 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 2005.
Awards
Dr. Nestler's awards and honors include the Pfizer Scholars Award (1987), the Sloan Research FellowshipSloan Fellowship
The Sloan Research Fellowships are awarded annually by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation since 1955 to "provide support and recognition to early-career scientists and scholars". This is distinct from the Sloan Fellows in business....
(1987), the McKnight Scholar Award (1989), the Jordi-Folch-Pi Memorial Award from the American Society of Neurochemistry (1990), the Efron Award of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (1994), the Pasarow Foundation Award for Neuropsychiatric Research (1998), the NARSAD Established Investigator Award (1996), the Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol-Myers Squibb , often referred to as BMS, is a pharmaceutical company, headquartered in New York City. The company was formed in 1989, following the merger of its predecessors Bristol-Myers and the Squibb Corporation...
Freedom to Discover Neuroscience Research Grant (2004), the Patricia S. Goldman-Rakic Award and the Falcone Prize both from NARSAD (2008, 2009), and the Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health from the Institute of Medicine (2010). He received an honorary doctorate from Uppsala University in Sweden in 2011.
Publications
Partial list:- Renthal W, Maze I, Krishnan V, Covington HE, Xiao GH, Kumar A, Russo SJ, Graham A, Tsankova N, Kerstetter KA, Kippin TE, Neve RL, Haggarty SJ, McKinsey TA, Bassel-Duby R, Olson EN, Nestler EJ. "Histone deacetylase 5 epigenetically controls behavioral adaptations to chronic emotional stimuli." Neuron 2007; 56: 517-529. PMID 17988634
- Berton O, Covington HE, Ebner K, Tsankova NM, Carle TL, Ulery P, Bhonsle A, Barrot M, Krishnan V, Singewald GM, Singewald N, Birnbaum S, Neve RL, Nestler EJ. Induction of FosB in the periaqueductal gray by stress promotes active coping responses. Neuron 2007; 55: 289 -300. PMID 17640529
- Russo SJ, Bolanos CA, Theobald DE, DeCarolis NA, Renthal WR, Kumar A, Winstanley CA, Renthal NE, Wiley MD, Self DW, Russell DS, Neve RL, Eisch AJ, Nestler EJ. "The IRS2IRS2Insulin receptor substrate 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the IRS2 gene.. Mice lacking IRS2 have a diabetic phenotype as well as a 40% reduction in brain mass.-Interactions:...
-Akt pathway in midbrain dopaminergic neurons regulates behavioral and cellular responses to opiates." Nature Neurosci 2007; 10: 93-99. PMID 17143271 - Zachariou V, Bolanos CA, Selley DE, Theobald D, Cassidy MP, Kelz MB, Shaw-Lutchmann T, Berton O, Sim-Selley LJ, DiLeone RJ, Kumar A, Nestler EJ. "FosBFOSBFBJ murine osteosarcoma viral oncogene homolog B also known as FOSB or FosB is a protein that, in humans, is encoded by the FOSB gene.The Fos gene family consists of 4 members: FOS, FOSB, FOSL1, and FOSL2...
: An essential role for FosB in the nucleus accumbens in morphine action." Nature Neurosci 2006; 9: 205-211. PMID 16415864 - Tsankova NM, Berton O, Renthal W, Kumar A, Neve RL, Nestler EJ. "Sustained hippocampal chromatin regulation in hippocampus in a mouse model of depression and antidepressant action." Nature Neurosci 2006; 9: 519-525. PMID 16501568
- Berton O, McClung CA, DiLeone RJ, Krishnan V, Russo S, Graham D, Tsankova NM, Bolanos CA, Rios M, Monteggia LM, Self DW, Nestler EJ. "Essential role of BDNFBrain-derived neurotrophic factorBrain-derived neurotrophic factor, also known as BDNF, is a protein that, in humans, is encoded by the BDNF gene. BDNF is a member of the "neurotrophin" family of growth factors, which are related to the canonical "Nerve Growth Factor", NGF...
in the mesolimbic dopamine pathway in social defeat stress." Science 2006; 311: 864-868. PMID 16469931 - Self, D.W., Barnhart, W.J., Lehman, D.A., and Nestler, E.J. (1996) Opposite modulation of cocaine-seeking behavior by D1-like and D2-like dopamine receptor agonists. Science 271:1586-1589. PMID 8599115
- Carlezon, W.A., Jr., Boundy, V.A., Haile, C.N., Kalb, R.G., Neve, R., and Nestler, E.J. (1997) Sensitization to morphine induced by viral-mediated gene transfer. Science 277:812-814. PMID 9242609
- Carlezon, W.A., Jr., Thome, J., Olson, V.G., Lane-Ladd, S.B., Brodkin, E.S., Hiroi, N., Duman, R.S., Neve, R.L., and Nestler, E.J. (1998) Regulation of cocaine reward by CREB. Science 282:2272-2275. PMID 9856954
- Kelz, M.B., Chen, J.S., Carlezon, W.A., Whisler, K., Gilden, L., Beckmann, A.M., Steffen, C., Zhang, Y.-J., Marotti, L., Self, D.W., Tkatch, R., Baranauskas, G., Surmeier, D.J., Neve, R.L., Duman, R.S., Picciotto, M.R., and Nestler, E.J. (1999) Expression of the transcription factor ∆FosB in the brain controls sensitivity to cocaine. Nature 401:272-276. PMID 10499584
- McClung CA, Nestler EJ (2003) Regulation of gene expression and cocaine reward by CREB and ∆FosB. Nature Neurosci 11:1208-1215. PMID 14566342
- Kumar, A., Choi, K.-H., Renthal, W., Tsankova, N.M., Theobald, D.E.H., Truong, H.-T., Russo, S.J., LaPlant, Q., Whistler, K., Neve, R.L., Self, D.W., and Nestler, E.J. (2005) Chromatin remodeling is a key mechanism underlying cocaine-induced plasticity in striatum. Neuron 48:303-314. PMID 16242410
- Krishnan, V., Han, M.-H., Graham, D.L., Berton, O., Renthal, W., Russo, S.J., LaPlant, Q., Graham, A., Lutter, M., Lagace, D.C., Ghose, S., Reister, R., Tannous, P., Green, T.A., Neve, R.L., Chakravarty, S., Kumar, A., Eisch, A.J., Self, D.W., Lee, F.S., Tamminga, C.A., Cooper, D.C., Gershenfeld, H.K., and Nestler, E.J. (2007) Susceptibility and resistance to social defeat are mediated through molecular adaptations in brain reward regions. Cell 131:391-404. PMID 17956738
- Renthal, W., Kumar, A., Xiao, G.H., Wilkinson, M., Convington, H.E. III, Mze, I., Sikder, D., Robison, A.J., LaPlant, Q., Dietz, D.M., Russo, S.J., Vialou, V., Chakravarty, S., Kodadek, T.J., Stack, A., Kabbaj, M., and Nestler, E.J. (2009) Genome wide analysis of chromatin regulation by cocaine reveals a novel role for sirtuins. Neuron 62:335-348. PMID 19447090
- Maze, I., Covington, H.E. III, Dietz, D.M., LaPlant, Q., Renthal, W., Russo, S.J., Mechanic, M., Mouzon, E., Neve, R.L., Haggarty, S.J., Ren, Y.H., Sampath, S.C., Hurd, Y.L., Greengard, P., Tarakovsky, A., Schaefer, A., and Nestler, E.J. (2010) Essential role of the histone methyltransferase G9a in cocaine-induced plasticity. Science 327:213-216. PMID 20056891
- Vialou, V., Robison, A.J., LaPlant, Q.C., Covington, H.E. III, Dietz, D.M., Ohnishi, Y.N., Mouzon, E., Rush, A.J. III, Watts, E.L., Wallace, D.L., Iñiguez, S.D., Ohnishi, Y.H., Steiner, M.A., Warren, B., Krishnan, V., Neve, R.L., Ghose, S., Berton, O., Tamminga, C.A., and Nestler, E.J. (2010) ∆FosB in brain reward circuits mediates resilience to stress and antidepressant responses. Nature Neurosci. 13:745-752. PMID 20473292
- Lobo, M.K., Covington, H.E. III, Chaudhury, D., Friedman, A.K., Sun, H.S., Damez-Werno, D., Dietz, D., Zaman, S., Koo, J.W., Kennedy, P.J., Mouzon, E., Mogri, M., Neve, R.L., Deisseroth, K., Han, M.H., and Nestler, E.J. (2010) Cell type specific loss of BDNF signaling mimics optogenetic control of cocaine reward. Science 330:385-390. PMID 20947769