Profile
Dr. Gustavo Pacheco López is a well-established neuroscientist specializing in Integrative Behavioral Neuroscience. His research focuses on the behavioral modulation of neuro-endocrine-immune interactions, central processing of peripheral immune signals, the microbiota-gut-brain axis, and the neurobiological mechanisms associated with feeding behavior, obesity, and metabolic syndrome.
Using an interdisciplinary approach based on both animal and human models, he has incorporated a wide range of advanced methodologies, including fMRI, µCT, bioimpedance spectroscopy, next-generation DNA sequencing, in vivo indirect calorimetry, biopotential telemetry, and symbolic and nonlinear analysis of physiological signals (such as Poincaré plots and symbolic dynamics applied to cardio-electrohysterographic data).
He is the author of 87 peer-reviewed scientific articles and 10 book chapters and has an H-index of 27, with over 2,300 international citations. He has supervised and graduated 13 PhD students, 13 Master’s students, 10 undergraduate theses, as well as eight postdoctoral researchers and four associate researchers, consolidating a distinguished career in high-level academic mentorship.
His academic training spans Mexico, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, with degrees and research stays at UAM, UNAM, the University of Duisburg-Essen, and international appointments at ETH Zurich and Leiden University. He is proficient in Spanish, English, and German, with professional experience in French- and Dutch-speaking academic contexts.
He currently serves as a Professor at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Lerma Campus, where he also coordinates the CI3M-Mexiquense node, part of the National Laboratory for Research in Instrumentation and Medical Imaging (CI3M). He has also held the position of Vice President of Outreach and International Affairs at UAM’s General Rectorship since March 2023. He previously served as Director of the Division of Biological and Health Sciences (2018–2022) and Founding Chair of the Department of Health Sciences at the same campus (2011–2015).
Internationally, he has maintained active academic collaborations. He has been an Honorary Professor at ETH Zurich since 2012 and a Senior Researcher affiliated with Leiden University since 2014, where he is also a member of the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC). He has participated in international research networks such as the Neuro-Psycho-Biota Consortium and the OBETEEN Consortium, exploring the neurocognitive and microbiological effects of obesogenic environments.
He has received numerous honors, including the State of Mexico Science and Technology Award (2017), the Cleveringa Lecture recognition awarded by Leiden University and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Mexico (2017), as well as Level 3 membership in Mexico’s National System of Researchers (SNII, 2021–2026) and PRODEP Desirable Profile designation (2015–2024). He has also been a recipient of academic fellowships from DAAD (Germany) and CONACYT (Mexico).
He has secured research funding from various national and international agencies, including CONACYT, SEP, COMECYT, ETH Zurich, the ETH Foundation, the French National Research Agency (ANR), DAAD, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), totaling over USD 2,000,000 in extramural support.
He is an active member of several distinguished scientific societies, including:
• PsychoNeuroImmunology Research Society (PNIRS)
• Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB)
• New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS)
• The Obesity Society (TOS)
• International Society for NeuroImmunoModulation (ISNIM)
• German Endocrine-Brain-Immune Network (GEBIN)
• Mexican Society of Neuroimmunoendocrinology (SMNIE)
His teaching experience spans undergraduate and graduate courses in physiology, neurodevelopment, statistics using R, and neuropsychology, taught at institutions such as UAM, UNAM, CINVESTAV, and ETH Zurich, reflecting his strong commitment to international scientific education.
Information provided by the academic staff