Born in 1952, Pierre Magistretti holds a doctorate in medicine from the University of Geneva and is a professor of neuroscience. Co-director of the Brain Mind Institute at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), he is also Director of the Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience in the University Department of Psychiatry at the CHUV, University of Lausanne.
Supported by a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation, he continued his studies at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, earning a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in biology (majoring in neurobiology) from the University of California at San Diego (UCSD).
It was during this period that Pierre Magistretti's interest in the molecular and cellular mechanisms of cerebral energy metabolism crystallized. His PhD thesis work led to the formulation of an original hypothesis according to which the main function of certain neurotransmitters would be to participate in the coupling between neuronal activity and local energy metabolism. Back in Geneva at the Department of Pharmacology, Pierre Magistretti continued his research into the interactions between monoaminergic and peptidergic neurotransmitters. From this time onwards, his laboratory was one of the pioneers in the study of glia functions, in particular its role in the regulation of energy metabolism in relation to synaptic activity.
In 1987, Pierre Magistretti was one of the first beneficiaries of the Swiss National Science Foundation's START (Swiss Talents for Academic Research and Teaching) program, aimed at promoting the next generation of academics. A year later, at the age of 36, he was appointed full professor in the Physiology Department at the University of Lausanne.
In terms of experimental research, Pierre Magistretti's research group was one of the pioneers in the study of cerebral metabolism and the mechanisms underlying the signals detected by functional brain imaging techniques. In particular, he highlighted the role of a particular type of brain cell, astrocytes, in providing the energy neurons need for their activity. The scope of his laboratory work has extended far beyond the realm of experimental neuroscience, and is particularly well recognized in the field of functional brain imaging. Pierre Magistretti has authored over 130 original articles in high-impact journals. Research in his laboratory has been supported at a high level for over twenty years by the Swiss National Science Foundation and other international peer-review bodies.
Strongly involved in the development of neuroscience in Switzerland and Europe, Pierre Magistretti was behind the creation of the Interfaculty Department of Neuroscience at the University of Lausanne, of which he was the first president, and of the Swiss Neuroscience Society, of which he was the first elected president. Pierre Magistretti was President of the European Federation of Neuroscience Societies from 2002 to 2004.
Pierre Magistretti has held various positions within the Faculty of Biology and Medicine at the University of Lausanne, firstly as full professor of physiology between 1988 and 2004, then as vice-dean (1996-2000) of this faculty and also as director of the physiology department (2001-2004). Since 2004, Pierre Magistretti has been Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, where he heads the Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience. In January 2005, Pierre Magistretti was also appointed Professor of Neuroscience at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), where he is co-director of the Brain and Mind Institute.
Pierre Magistretti is a member of the Research Council of the Swiss National Science Foundation.
Pierre Magistretti was elected member of the Academia Europea in 2001 and of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences in 2003. He has received a number of scientific awards, including the Theodore Ott Prize from the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences and the Emil Kraepelin Professorship from the Max-Planck Institute for Psychiatry. He was elected to the International Chair of the Collège de France for the 2007-2008 academic year.
Pierre Magistretti is particularly interested in the links between neuroscience and psychiatry, which led to the writing of the book À chacun son cerveau, recently published by Editions Odile Jacob, with fellow child psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Professor François Ansermet. In this book, neuronal plasticity, i.e. the ability of neurons to modify their connections in response to lived experience, is taken as the meeting point between two disciplines which, on the face of it, separate neuroscience and psychoanalysis.