Student of Professor Denise Albe Fessard, Jacques Glowinski took his first steps in research in 1960 at the Marey Institute and the Radioactive Isotopes Laboratory of the Pasteur Institute. After synthesizing radioactive dopamine, he conducted the first studies on the cerebral metabolism of dopamine and norepinephrine, which were marked. From 1963 to 1966, he was invited to continue his work at the National Institute of Health as part of Julius Axelrod's team in the prestigious Clinical Sciences Laboratory directed by S. Kety, pioneer with L. Sokolof in brain circulation studies. During this internship, Jacques Glowinski also collaborates with L. Iversen and S. Snyder and publishes, among his hundreds of publications, about twenty articles on the brain metabolism of catecholamines and demonstrates in particular the mechanism of action of tricyclic antidepressants. On his return, Jacques Glowinski was appointed Inserm researcher. He created a small research group at the Collège de France in the Chair of Neurophysiology under Professor Alfred Fessard and quickly established a fruitful collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry. This group quickly became an Inserm Research Unit and has continued to develop, particularly after Jacques Glowinski's appointment as Chair of Neuropharmacology at the Collège de France. This laboratory has trained a large number of researchers, many of whom have founded their own laboratories in France and abroad.
Scientific contribution
, neuropeptides, metabolic and functional properties of monoaminergic and cholinergic regulatory systems, neural circuits of the basal ganglia, relationships between the prefrontal cortex and the basal ganglia, development of dopaminergic systems, properties of astrocytes and astrocyto-neuronal relationships, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, drug addiction, neurotoxicity, these were the main research areas of this laboratory, which has developed various research avenues. His interest in science policy, his organizational skills and his taste for architecture and urban planning have also led him to participate in other projects. Thus, shortly after his appointment as Vice-President of the Assembly of Professors of the Collège de France, Jacques Glowinski was appointed by his colleagues to be responsible for the Institution's renovation project as part of the President of the Republic's Major Works, a task that continued during his tenure as Director and which will end in 2013. After having been a member of the Campus Plan Commission, Jacques Glowinski was appointed by Mrs Valérie Pécresse, Minister of Higher Education and Research, to carry out a scientific and urban planning coordination mission for the Plateau de Saclay campus plan.
Distinctions
Jacques Glowinski and his collaborators have been awarded several prizes: the Richard Lounsbery Prize for Biology and Medicine, the Grand Prize of the Foundation for Medical Research, the Inserm Honorary Prize and the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Life time Award. Jacques Glowinski has been a member of several national commissions and the Inserm Governing Council, President of the Society of Neurosciences, co-founder and President of the Scientific Council of the Brain Research Federation and, more recently, in charge of preparing a national plan for the brain and nervous system diseases.
In 2016, Jacques Glowinski published a book on his career path, written with François Cardinali, "Le Cerveau Architecte", the Collège de France in the 21st century. Fondation Hugot du Collège de France, Collège de France and Éditions Michel de Maule
