Lori Zeltser, PhD

  • Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology
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Overview

Dr. Zeltser is a Professor in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology and in the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center. Dr. Zeltser received her A.B. degree from Princeton University and her Ph.D. degree from The Rockefeller University. She continued her research training in development neurobiology as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratories of Andrew Lumsden at Kings College London and Claudio Stern and Thomas Jessell at Columbia University. She became an Assistant Professor at Columbia University in 2007. She serves as the Co-Director of the Nutritional and Metabolic Biology Ph.D. program and the Director Advanced Tissue Pathology and Imaging Core of the Columbia Diabetes Research Center. Her laboratory studies central and peripheral neural circuits regulating eating behavior and metabolism.

Email: lz146@cumc.columbia.edu

Academic Appointments

  • Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology

Administrative Titles

  • Director, Advanced Tissue Pathology and Imaging Core of the Columbia Diabetes Research Center
  • Co-Director, Nutritional and Metabolic Biology Ph.D. program

Gender

  • Female

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • AB, 1989 Molecular Biology and the Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs and Public Policy, Princeton University
  • PhD, 2006 Molecular and Developmental Biology, The Rockefeller University

Research

The Zeltser laboratory studies central and peripheral neural circuits regulating food intake and metabolism. We have developed new tools to investigate how the sympathetic nervous system regulates nutrient uptake in brown adipose tissue and how this affects metabolism at both the local tissue and systemic levels. We are also defining how interactions between genetic, environmental and dietary factors across the lifespan affect the maturation and function of these circuits.

Research Interests

  • Cellular/Molecular/Developmental Neuroscience
  • Developmental neurobiology
  • Metabolism
  • Neural Circuits

Selected Publications

  • Neri D., Lee S., Ramos Lobo A., Lafonde A., and Zeltser L.M. (2023) Rearing mice at 22°C programs increased capacity to respond to chronic exposure to cold but not high fat diet. Molecular Metabolism 73:101740. PMC10248272.
  • François M., Canal Delgado I., Shargorodsky N., Leu C.S. and Zeltser L.M.; (2022) Assessing effects of stress on feeding behaviors in laboratory mice. eLife. 11:e70271.
  • François, M., Fernández-Gayol, O. and Zeltser, L.M. (2021) A framework for developing translationally relevant animal models of stress-induced changes in eating behavior. Biological Psychiatry Jul 3: S0006-3223(21)01428-1.
  • Zeltser, L.M. (2018) Feeding circuit development and early life influences on future feeding behavior. Nature Reviews of Neuroscience. Apr 17;19(5):302-316. PMID: 29662204.
  • Madra, M. and Zeltser L.M. (2016) BDNF-Val66Met variant and adolescent stress interact to promote susceptibility to anorexic behavior in mice. Translational Psychiatry Apr 5;6:e776.
  • Zeltser, L.M. (2015) Developmental influences on circuits programming susceptibility to obesity. Front Neuroendocrinol. 39:17-27. PMID:26206662. Free PMC article.
  • Lerea J.S., Ring, L.E., Hassouna, R., Chong, A.C.N., Szigeti-Buck K, Horvath, T.L. and Zeltser, L.M. (2015) Reducing adiposity in a critical developmental window has lasting benefits in mice. Endocrinology 157(2):666-78. PMC4733128.
  • Juan de Solis, A., Baquero, A., Bennett C.M., Grove K.L. and Zeltser, L.M. (2016) Postnatal undernutrition delays a key step in the maturation of hypothalamic feeding circuits. Molecular Metabolism 5(3):198-209. PMC4770263.
  • Baquero, A. Juan de Solis, A., Lee, S., Lindsley, S., Krigiti M, Smith, S.M., Cowley M, Zeltser, L.M. and Grove K.L. (2014) Developmental switch of leptin signaling in arcuate nucleus neurons. Journal of Neuroscience 34(30):10041-10054. PMC4107412.
  • Ring, L.E. and Zeltser, L.M. (2010) Disruption of hypothalamic leptin signaling in mice leads to early-onset obesity, but physiological adaptations in mature animals stabilize adiposity levels. JCI 120(8):2931-41. PMC2912188.
  • Padilla, S.L., Carmody, J.S. and Zeltser, L.M. (2010) Pomc-expressing progenitors give rise to antagonistic populations in hypothalamic feeding circuits. Nature Medicine 16(4):403-5. PMC2854504.

For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov