Mark Andermann, Ph.D.
Mark Andermann, Ph.D. – Faculty Profile
If you prefer, you can view the visual layout directly on Canva: Mark Andermann – Faculty Profile by Neuro Coordinator (opens in a new window).
Title: Professor of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School.
The Aim
The Andermann Lab studies how neuromodulators and peptides act on the brainstem and cortex to regulate hunger, thirst, pain, and offline reactivations of recent experiences.
The Impact
The Andermann Lab investigates how our internal states and needs change the way our brain pays attention to specific things and later recalls them. A major focus is on how peptides and neuromodulators related to feeding and pain drive lasting changes in brain circuitry. This work could lead to better ways to treat and prevent disorders such as anorexia nervosa, obesity, and chronic pain. In the long run, this research may also help us understand and treat other brain disorders that affect motivation and perception.
A Closer Look
Article: What Happens in the Brain While Daydreaming? , Harvard Medical School, December 2023. This article highlights Andermann’s research showing how coordinated activity across distributed brain networks during quiet wakefulness supports daydreaming by replaying past experiences and integrating them into future planning and decision‑making.
Article: We’ve Never Understood How Hunger Works. That Might Be About to Change. , MIT Technology Review, January 2024. The article explains how specialized brain circuits, particularly hunger‑sensing neurons in the hypothalamus studied by Andermann and colleagues, dynamically integrate internal signals and external food cues to generate the feeling of hunger and drive motivated eating behavior.
Contact
Email:
manderma@bidmc.harvard.edu
Lab website:
www.andermannlab.com