Lisa M. Monteggia PhD

Dr. Lisa Monteggia is the Barlow Family Director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute and Professor of Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Monteggia completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, receiving a B.S. in Microbiology and then an M.S. in Biology. Dr. Monteggia then worked for several years in a pharmaceutical company where she was promoted to the level of Scientist. Concurrently, Dr. Monteggia attended the Chicago Medical School receiving a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and working with Dr. Marina Wolf in the area of drug abuse. Dr. Monteggia then moved to Yale University to complete a fellowship under the guidance of Dr. Eric Nestler in the area of molecular psychiatry. Dr. Monteggia joined the faculty at UT Southwestern Medical Center where she held the Ginny and John Eulich Professorship in Autism Spectrum Disorders and was a Professor of Neuroscience at UT Southwestern Medical Center before moving to Vanderbilt in 2018.

Her research focuses on the role of the molecular and cellular basis of neuroplasticity as it pertains to neuropsychiatric disorders. Her research has demonstrated a crucial role of brain-derived growth factor (BDNF) in antidepressant action. She has also identified a novel synaptic mechanism underlying the rapid antidepressant action of ketamine. She also studies the role of Methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2), the gene linked to the autism spectrum disorder, Rett syndrome, on synaptic plasticity and behavior with implications for a better understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders. Her research encompasses molecular, cellular, behavioral, and electrophysiological approaches using preclinical models.