Daphné Bavelier is a French cognitive neuroscientist specialized in

brain plasticity Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity or just plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to reorganize and rewire its neural ...

and learning. She is full Professor at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

in the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences. She heads the Brain and Learning lab at Campus Biotech in Geneva, Switzerland.

Education and career

Bavelier received her undergraduate education at the

École normale supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

in biology, before moving to the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

in 1988 to pursue a PhD in Brain and Cognitive sciences in Professor Molly Potter's laboratory. She received a postdoctoral fellowship from the

James S. McDonnell Foundation The James S. McDonnell Foundation was founded in 1950 by aerospace pioneer James S. McDonnell. It was established to "improve the quality of life," and does so by contributing to the generation of new knowledge through its support of research an ...

to carry research in brain plasticity and learning at the

Salk Institute The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a scientific research institute in the La Jolla community of San Diego, California. The independent, non-profit institute was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine; among th ...

under Professor Helen Neville. In 1996, she became assistant professor at the Georgetown Institute for Cognitive and Computational Sciences at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. She then joined the Brain and Cognitive Science department at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

in 1999, before moving to the department of Psychology within the Faculty of Psychology and Education Science at the

in 2011.

Research Interest

Bavelier’s interest lies in how the brain adapts to changes in experience. Early in her career, she investigated how being born deaf and using sign language alters brain organization for attentional functions and language processing. In 2000, Bavelier and her student (and now colleague) C. Shawn Green made an unexpected discovery that video games could be powerful tools to induce brain plasticity. In particular, action video games were shown to enhance attention. Since then, Bavelier has been interested in understanding how to leverage video games, and more generally digital technologies, to facilitate brain plasticity and learning. The Brain and Learning Lab now focuses on clarifying the factors that promote learning and brain plasticity using a multidisciplinary approach (behavior, brain imaging, eye tracking and vital statistics). With an additional interest in translational work, Bavelier is one of the co-founders of Akili Interactive, a company dedicated to leverage video games for therapeutic interventions.

Honors and awards

*2019. Recipient of the 2019 Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize *2018. TIGA Awards, Anxiety-relief video game shortlisted in the “Best Educational Game” *2018. Nominated fellow of the

American Psychological Society The Association for Psychological Science (APS), previously the American Psychological Society, is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in r ...

in recognition of her "sustained outstanding contributions to the science of psychology" *2008. Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientist – Finalist in the faculty category *2000-2004. John Merck Scholar Award *1999-2000. Award for Beginning Academics –

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

*1988-1989. Award from the American Women's Group in Paris to study abroad

Science in the public interest

*2019. 100 Women and Thousands More, promoting women and their exceptional careers *2016-2018. Expert on Human Enhancement, Global Future Councils

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

*2017. Selected as "100 personnalités qui font la Suisse romande",

Le Temps ' (, ) is a Swiss French-language daily newspaper published in Berliner format in Geneva by Le Temps SA. The paper was launched in 1998, formed out of the merger of two other newspapers, and (the former being a merger of two other papers), ...

*2014-2016. Expert on the ‘New Vision for Education’ project of the

*2016. Research on video games featured in

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...

*2012. Expert at the meeting on 'Interactive Media, Attention and Well-being' hosted by the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

Office of Science and Technology Policy The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is a department of the United States government, part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, Executive Office of the President (EOP), established by United States Congres ...

*2012. TED Talk - Your brain on video games *2009. Ranked among the top 50 French in the US by France-Amerique

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bavelier, Daphne Living people Academic staff of the University of Geneva University of Rochester faculty Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) French expatriates in Switzerland French expatriate academics in the United States 20th-century French women scientists 21st-century French women scientists