Dr. Hernán López-Schier is a

developmental biologist Developmental biology is the study of the process by which animals and plants grow and develop. Developmental biology also encompasses the biology of Regeneration (biology), regeneration, asexual reproduction, metamorphosis, and the growth and di ...

and

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, Biological neural network, neural circuits, and glia, and their Behavior, behavioral, biological, and psycholo ...

known for his work on sensory biology and organ regeneration. He is an associate faculty at the Graduate School of Quantitative Biology at the

Ludwig Maximilian University The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke Ludwig IX of Bav ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany, and visiting professor at the

New York University Abu Dhabi New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD, ) is a degree-granting portal campus of New York University, established as a private liberal arts college in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Together with the main sites in New York and Shanghai, the por ...

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

Education

Lopez-Schier trained in

molecular genetics Molecular genetics is a branch of biology that addresses how differences in the structures or expression of DNA molecules manifests as variation among organisms. Molecular genetics often applies an "investigative approach" to determine the st ...

the Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides doctoral and postdoctoral education. It is classifi ...

in New York City. In 1997, he moved to the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

to pursue a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

and

cell biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...

at the

Gurdon Institute The Gurdon Institute is a research facility at the University of Cambridge, specialising in developmental biology and cancer biology. History The Institute was founded in 1989 to provide a rich, collaborative environment for scientists working i ...

under the mentorship of Daniel St Johnston, FRS.

Career

After his

, Lopez-Schier joined the group of

Kavli Prize The Kavli Prize was established in 2005 as a joint venture of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, and the Kavli Foundation (United States), Kavli Foundation. It honors, supports, and r ...

laureate A. James Hudspeth as a

Postdoctoral Fellow A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary academ ...

, funded by the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

and the Life Sciences Research Foundation as

Howard Hughes Medical Institute The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland with additional facilities in Ashburn, Virginia. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American busin ...

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

. In 2007, he moved to the

Centre for Genomic Regulation The Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG, ''Centre de Regulació Genòmica'' in Catalan) is a biomedical and genomics research centre based in Barcelona. Most of its facilities and laboratories are located in the Barcelona Biomedical Research Par ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, as junior group leader, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and an award by the

European Research Council The European Research Council (ERC) is a public body for funding of scientific and technological research conducted within the European Union (EU). Established by the European Commission in 2007, the ERC is composed of an independent Scientific ...

. In 2011–2016 he chaired a Research Networking Program from the

European Science Foundation The European Science Foundation (ESF) is an association of 11 member organizations devoted to scientific research in 8 European countries. ESF is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organization that promotes science in Europe. It was e ...

. Between 2012 and 2023 he was research unit director at the

Helmholtz Zentrum München Helmholtz Zentrum München - Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH), also known as Helmholtz Munich, is one of Germany’s leading non-university centers for biomedical research. It operates as part of Helmholtz Health, the h ...

, and member of the Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences at the

in Munich, Germany. Other academic positions were as Visiting Scholar at the

National Institute of Genetics The National Institute of Genetics is a Japanese institution founded in 1949. The institute is located in Mishima, Shizuoka. It hosts the DNA Data Bank of Japan The DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ) is a biological database that collects DNA seq ...

in Mishima, Japan in 2008 and 2019, Visiting Scientist at the

Janelia Research Campus Janelia Research Campus is a scientific research campus of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute that opened in October 2006. The campus is located in Loudoun County, Virginia, near the town of Ashburn. It is known for its scientific research and m ...

in 2014, Visiting Professor at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, and member of the Professional Development Committee at the

Society for Neuroscience The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) 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. It is especially well k ...

from 2020 to 2023. He has served at scientific review panels for Austrian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Swiss and British government agencies, and is a member of the Project Evaluation Committee of the

EMBL The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to molecular biology research and is supported by 29 member states, two prospect member states, and one associate member state. EMBL was created in ...

Imaging Centre. In 2019, he was appointed to the Scientific Advisory Board of the biotechnology company Sensorion. His group has made a significant contribution to sensory regeneration, having been the first to use optogenetics to repair damaged neurons, and the first to identify the source of hair-cell regeneration. As of 2023, he has an H-index of 29.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez-Schier, Hernan Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Developmental biologists Neuroscientists Rockefeller University alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge