Michael Lutter

Since 2006, Dr. Michael Lutter has been a leader in the fields of depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. Dr. Lutter completed combined MD and PhD training in the prestigious Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in 2003. After finishing medical school, Dr. Lutter entered the research-track of the Psychiatry Residency Program at UT Southwestern, There, he discovered that the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin affects mood and appetite in response to stressful situations. He joined the Psychiatry Department as a faculty member in 2008 and continued his research on mood and feeding with a special focus on Eating Disorders. In 2012 he was recruited to the Psychiatry Department of the University of Iowa where he identified the first two rare genetic mutations associated with Anorexia Nervosa. In 2016 he joined the Eating Recovery Center and while working as a Physician-Scientist in their newly opened Inpatient Hospital studied novel treatments for patients dealing with depression and binge-eating.

He has published 28 original research papers, written 7 review articles, and contributed 3 book chapters. In addition, he has regularly presented at national and international meetings including the Society for Neuroscience, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, and the International Conference on Eating Disorders. He continues to pursue his passion of using translational neuroscience approaches to improve the treatment of patients with depression, anxiety, and eating disorders.