Personal profile
About
Dr. Lauren Faget joined Boise State University in 2024 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. She received her M.S. in Psychopharmacology from the University of Bordeaux in 2007, and her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Strasbourg in 2010, under the supervision of Pr. Brigitte Kieffer and Dr. Dominique Massotte, studying opioid addiction. She performed her post-doc at UC San Diego in the laboratory of Dr. Tom Hnasko, studying the role and connectivity of discrete neuronal populations of the brain reward pathway. She was then a Project Scientist in the department of Neurosciences at UC San Diego from 2017 to 2024. A pioneer in her field, Dr. Faget has been the first to: characterize and identify the role of heterogeneous ventral pallidum (VP) neurons in motivated behaviors using in vivo optogenetics, in vivo calcium imaging & ex vivo slice electrophysiology; report the afferent inputs to neurotransmitter-specific neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) using trans-synaptic retrograde virus; report the distribution & colocalization of mu and delta opioid receptors in the mouse brain using knock-in mice; and report the recruitment of hippocampal delta opioid receptors during context-dependent morphine withdrawal & identification of physiological pattern of internalization. Her current research goals are to identify cell types and synapses modified in neuropsychiatric disorders (including drug addiction, depression and schizophrenia) to set new targets for therapeutical interventions.
External positions
Research Health Scientist, San Diego VA Medical Center
1 Jan 2022 → 1 Jan 2024
Project Scientist, University of California at San Diego
1 Jan 2017 → 1 Jan 2024
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California at San Diego
1 Jan 2013 → 1 Jan 2017
Postdoctoral Scholar, IGBMC Institute
1 Jan 2011 → 1 Jan 2012
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Corrigendum to “Proportion and distribution of neurotransmitter-defined cell types in the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra pars compacta” [Addiction Neuroscience 13 (2024) 100183] (Addiction Neuroscience (2024) 13, (S2772392524000427), (10.1016/j.addicn.2024.100183))
Conrad, W. S., Oriol, L., Kollman, G. J., Faget, L. & Hnasko, T. S., Jun 2025, In: Addiction Neuroscience. 15, 100193.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate
Open Access -
Mesoaccumbal glutamate neurons drive reward via glutamate release but aversion via dopamine co-release
Warlow, S. M., Singhal, S. M., Hollon, N. G., Faget, L., Dowlat, D. S., Zell, V., Hunker, A. C., Zweifel, L. S. & Hnasko, T. S., 7 Feb 2024, In: Neuron. 112, 3, p. 488-499.e5Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access30 Scopus citations -
Postnatal Phencyclidine-Induced Deficits in Decision Making Are Ameliorated by Optogenetic Inhibition of Ventromedial Orbitofrontal Cortical Glutamate Neurons
Tranter, M. M., Faget, L., Hnasko, T. S., Powell, S. B., Dillon, D. G. & Barnes, S. A., Jan 2024, In: Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science. 4, 1, p. 264-274 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access6 Scopus citations2 Downloads (Pure) -
Proportion and Distribution of Neurotransmitter-Defined Cell Types in the Ventral Tegmental Area and Substantia Nigra Pars Compacta
Conrad, W. S., Oriol, L., Kollman, G. J., Faget, L. & Hnasko, T. S., 30 Oct 2024, In: Addiction Neuroscience. 13, 100183.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access6 Scopus citations -
Ventral pallidum GABA and glutamate neurons drive approach and avoidance through distinct modulation of VTA cell types
Faget, L., Oriol, L., Lee, W. C., Zell, V., Sargent, C., Flores, A., Hollon, N. G., Ramanathan, D. & Hnasko, T. S., 18 May 2024, In: Nature Communications. 15, 1, 4233.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access14 Scopus citations
Activities
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