Yet, his career encompasses a much broader legacy of achievements. Dr. Dantzer received his DVM in Veterinary Medicine at the University Paul Sabatier in Toulouse France in 1967 – one year before the ISPNE was formed in 1968. By 1971, he became Dr. 3rd cycle at the University Paris VI in Paris France and rounded out his educational tour de force in 1977 when he received his PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University Paul Sabatier in Toulouse France. Soon thereafter, he became director of research 2nd class at the Laboratory of Veterinary Pharmacology in Toulouse France, University of Bordeaux, and then at the French National Institute of Medical Research (INSERM) in Bordeaux France where, throughout the 80s he bridged the emerging disciplines of psychoneuroendocrinology and psychoneuroimmunology to illustrate the profound impact of stress on the body and to show that the communication of the brain with the immune and endocrine systems are bidirectional. From 1990 until 2006, Dr. Dantzer headed the Laboratory of Integrative Neurobiology in Bordeaux France which was the leading laboratory in the study of cytokine production and action in the brain and, ultimately, impacting behavior. In 2006, Dr. Dantzer moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign to lead a program in immunology and behavior before moving, in 2012, to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to study the pathophysiology of fatigue and other cancer-related symptoms.

Robert Dantzer has published over 400 peer-reviewed articles and over 100 book chapters and 15 books (edited and written). He has been cited nearly 70,000 times with an H-index that outpaces the triple digit temperatures of a summer in Texas – his home since 2012. Published in Nature and cited over 8000 times, his 2008 review “From inflammation to sickness and depression: when the immune system subjugates the brain” elegantly summarizes Dr. Dantzer’s overarching contributions to the field of psychoneuroendocrinology, providing a compassionate and accessible understanding of physiology within those suffering from depression. Infections and other immune challenges make people sick and change their behavior, with many such sickness behaviors caused by the immune system. It is easy to understand how altering behavior when fighting infection is adaptive, and Dr. Dantzer’s lifetime of work has illustrated that it is just as adaptive to alter behavior when those immune pathways are activated during depression. Is it just as easy to understand? No, judged merely by the abundance of acronyms, hyphens, and multisyllabic words far afield from his native language. Dr. Dantzer reveals the depth to which he has drilled down along these neuroendocrine-immune pathways across translational animal models as well as within clinical populations. His work shows empathy for patient populations dealing with depressive episodes or chronic illness, revealing that the depression component is longer lasting than acute illnesses and depression can become a consequence of decompensation of mechanisms that regulate sickness. This research makes it possible for individuals struggling with depression to understand it as a physical condition and, similarly, those coping with chronic illnesses and health challenges like cancer can understand that their mood states might be depressed .

It is with enthusiasm and a deeply felt honor that ISPNE presents the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Robert Dantzer.