Christian Lüscher joins the Wyss Center to lead ERC Advanced Grant on addiction vulnerability
Christian Lüscher joins Wyss Geneva
The Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering is delighted to welcome Professor Christian Lüscher, one of the world’s leading neuroscientists in the field of addiction. Starting on October 1, 2026, he joins the Center to lead VARIANT, a five-year project funded by a prestigious Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). The Wyss Center is the project’s Host Institution.
Christian Lüscher is a neurobiologist and neurologist. He is a professor at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and an attending physician at Geneva University Hospitals (HUG). Over more than two decades, his laboratory has transformed our understanding of how addictive drugs remodel the brain. It has traced the synaptic and circuit-level changes that turn drug use into compulsion, and it has pioneered approaches to reverse them. ERC Advanced Grants are among the most competitive and prestigious research awards in Europe. They are given to established researchers with a track record of ground-breaking work, and this new award confirms his standing at the forefront of the field.
Why do only some people become addicted?
Only about 20% of people who use cocaine develop addiction. VARIANT (Vulnerability And Resilience In Addiction: Integrating Epigenetics, Synapses, Circuits, and Trajectories) explores why. It looks at how life experiences shape the brain and tip the balance between vulnerability and resilience, with the goal of more personalized treatments for addiction.
A new model of collaboration
The project is implemented jointly by the Wyss Center and UNIGE. Christian’s team will work across Campus Biotech and UNIGE’s Faculty of Medicine. The project combines the university’s academic strength with the Wyss Center’s expertise in neurotechnology and translational research, including biomarker discovery and neuromodulation.
“We are thrilled to welcome Christian to the Wyss Center. His work on the brain circuits of addiction is world-class, and VARIANT is exactly the kind of ambitious science that can change how we treat patients. This collaborative partnership with the University of Geneva is an exciting new model for how our institutions can work together, and we hope it will be the first of many.” — Tracy Laabs, Director, Wyss Center Geneva
“I am grateful to the Wyss Center for hosting VARIANT and opening a path from fundamental discoveries to clinical applications through biomarker discovery and targeted neuromodulation.” — Prof. Christian Lüscher