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Miguel A. Lujan, PhD, MSc

Academic Title:

Research Associate

Primary Appointment:

Neurobiology

Email:

mlujan@som.umaryland.edu

Location:

280J

Phone (Primary):

(775) 200-5843

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Education and Training

  • University Jaume I, Castellon (Spain), BS, Psychology, 2014
  • University of Barcelona (Spain), MSc, Neurosciences, 2015
  • Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona (Spain), PhD, Biomedicine, 2020
  • University of Maryland Baltimore, Postdoctoral Study, Neurobiology, 2024

Biosketch

Miguel completed his undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University Jaume I in Spain. He then pursued a master's degree in Neuroscience at the University of Barcelona under the mentorship of Dr. Olga Valverde. During his MSc and PhD, Miguel's research focused on delineating the potential therapeutic effects of CBD in a mouse model of cocaine use disorder. 

Following his PhD in Biomedicine, Miguel joined the Cheer lab to investigate the development and modulation of dopamine function by the brain endocannabinoid system. During his postdoctoral tenure, Miguel has continued to pursue his own research interests, notably discovering a prospective biomarker of relapse propensity, and proposing a neurobiological mechanism for postpartum substance use disorder vulnerabilities. This line of research was recently funded by a K99 grant from NIDA and will be his main focus as he transitions to an independent position. 

Research/Clinical Keywords

Endocannabinoids, Dopamine, Fiber photometry, Systems neuroscience, Sex differences, Drug self-administration.

Highlighted Publications

Luján, M. Á., Covey, D. P., et al. (2023). Mobilization of endocannabinoids by midbrain dopamine neurons is required for the encoding of reward prediction. Nature Communications, 14(1), 7545. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43131-3
Luján, M. Á., Young-Morrison, R., et al. (2024). Dynamic Overrepresentation of Accumbal Cues in Food- and Opioid-Seeking Rats after Prenatal THC Exposure. BioRxiv, 2024.05.06.592839. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.05.06.592839
Luján, M. Á., et al. (2023). A multivariate regressor of patterned dopamine release predicts relapse to cocaine. Cell Reports, 42(6), 112553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112553
Wilkinson, C. S., Luján, M. Á., et al. (2023). Listening to the Data: Computational Approaches to Addiction and Learning. The Journal of Neuroscience, 43(45), 7547–7553. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1415-23.2023
Luján, M. Á., et al. (2018). Repeated Cannabidiol treatment reduces cocaine intake and modulates neural proliferation and CB1R expression in the mouse hippocampus. Neuropharmacology, 143, 163–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2018.09.043

Awards and Affiliations

American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Harry June Travel Award (ACNP/NIAAA), Phoenix AZ (USA)

Michael Shipley Postdoctoral Award: Office of Postdoctoral Scholars, School of Medicine (University of Maryland)

Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP) Travel Fellowship Award, Austin TX (USA)

Postdoctoral Fellow Excellence in Research 2023 Award: Graduate Program in Life Sciences and Office of Postdoctoral Scholars (University of Maryland).

Best poster award: Gordon Research Conference: Cannabinoid Function in the CNS 2023. Castelldefels (Spain)

Behavior, Biology, and Chemistry: Translational Research in Substance Abuse Disorders travel award. San Antonio, TX (USA)

International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) travel award to attend the Addiction 2022 conference. Sardinia (Italy).

Outstanding Poster Award. Winter Conference on Brain Research (WCBR 2022), Snowmass, CO (USA)

Winter Conference on Brain Research (WCBR 2022) Travel award. Snowmass, CO (USA)

Grants and Contracts

K99DA060209: Postpartum Neurobiological Sequelae of Prescription Opioid Use During Pregnancy.

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