Dr. Minmin Luo is the Director of the Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, and a New Cornerstone Investigator. He earned a BS in Psychology from Peking University (1995), followed by a MS in Computer Science and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania (1997, 2000). After completing postdoctoral training at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute/Duke University, he returned to China in 2004, where he previously served as an Investigator at the National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing, and a Professor at Tsinghua University.

His research primarily focuses on the neural basis of reward and punishment processing, novel neuroscience technologies, and innovative therapies for major brain disorders. His key contributions include proposing the dual-pathway theory of serotonin and dopamine in reward processing, discovering the central role of adenosine in rapid antidepressant effects, developing the fiber photometry system that is now widely used worldwide, and developing revolutionary gene therapies for vision restoration, intractable epilepsy, and refractory neuropathic pain. He has also developed a globally leading wireless, high-throughput, implantable brain-computer interface system.

1. Yue, C., Wang, N., Zhai, H., Yuan, Z., Cui, Y., Quan, J., Zhou, Y., Fan, X., Wang, H., Wu, Z., Mi, H., Ge, W., Li, Y., Wang, X., & Luo, M. Adenosine signalling drives antidepressant actions of *** and ECT. Nature. 2025 Nov 5; 649(8096): 423–431.

‌2. Yuan, Z., Yang, H., Wang, P., Hou, X., Xu, K., Zhou, Y., Dai, R., Gao, Y., Gao, X., Guo, Q., Li, Y., Zhang, J., Mao, Z., & Luo, M. Optimized deep brain stimulation for anterior cingulate cortex inhibition produces antidepressant-like effects in mice. Neuron. 2025 Oct; 113(20): 3363-3373.e4.

3. Yuan, Z., Qi, Z., Wang, R., Cui, Y., An, S., Gui Ying Wu, Feng, Q., Lin, R., Dai, R., Li, A., Gong, H., Luo, Q., Fu, L., & Luo, M.  A corticoamygdalar pathway controls reward devaluation and depression using dynamic inhibition code. Neuron. 2023 Dec; 111(23): 3837-3853.e5.