Daphné Bavelier is a French cognitive neuroscientist specialized in brain plasticity and learning. She is full Professor at the University of Geneva in the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences. She heads the Brain and Learning lab at Campus Biotech in Geneva, Switzerland.

Daphne Bavelier
Alma materÉcole normale supérieure (BSc)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD)
AwardsKlaus J. Jacobs Research Prize (2019) [1]
Scientific career
FieldsCognitive Neuroscience
InstitutionsUniversity of Geneva
University of Rochester
Georgetown University
Salk Institute
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
École normale supérieure (Paris)
Websitehttps://www.unige.ch/fapse/brainlearning/

Education and career

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Bavelier received her undergraduate education at the École normale supérieure in biology, before moving to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 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 to carry research in brain plasticity and learning at the Salk Institute under Professor Helen Neville.

In 1996, she became assistant professor at the Georgetown Institute for Cognitive and Computational Sciences at Georgetown University. She then joined the Brain and Cognitive Science department at the University of Rochester in 1999, before moving to the department of Psychology within the Faculty of Psychology and Education Science at the University of Geneva in 2011.

Research Interest

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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.[2][3] In 2000, Bavelier and her student (and now colleague) C. Shawn Green[4] 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.[5] Since then, Bavelier has been interested in understanding how to leverage video games, and more generally digital technologies, to facilitate brain plasticity and learning.[6][7] The Brain and Learning Lab [8] 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,[9] a company dedicated to leverage video games for therapeutic interventions.

Honors and awards

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  • 2019. Recipient of the 2019 Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize[10]
  • 2018. TIGA Awards, Anxiety-relief video game shortlisted in the “Best Educational Game”[11]
  • 2018. Nominated fellow of the American Psychological Society in recognition of her "sustained outstanding contributions to the science of psychology"[12]
  • 2008. Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientist – Finalist in the faculty category[12]
  • 2000-2004. John Merck Scholar Award[12]
  • 1999-2000. Award for Beginning Academics – National Science Foundation[citation needed]
  • 1988-1989. Award from the American Women's Group in Paris to study abroad[citation needed]

Science in the public interest

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References

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  1. ^ "2019 Research Prize". Jacobs Foundation. 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  2. ^ Bavelier, Daphne; Dye, Matthew DG; Hauser, Peter C (2006). "Cross-modal plasticity: where and how? Nature Reviews in Neuroscience". Nature Reviews. Neuroscience. 3 (6): 443–452. doi:10.1038/nrn848. PMID 12042879. S2CID 6456337.  
  3. ^ Bavelier, Daphne; Neville, Helen J (2002). "Do deaf individuals see better?". Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 10 (11): 512–518. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2006.09.006. PMC 2885708. PMID 17015029.  
  4. ^ "Green, C.Shawn". UW-Madison. 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  5. ^ Green, C Shawn; Bavelier, Daphne (2003). "Action video game modifies visual selective attention". Nature. 423 (6939): 534–537. Bibcode:2003Natur.423..534G. doi:10.1038/nature01647. PMID 12774121. S2CID 1521273.  
  6. ^ Bediou, Benoit; Deanne, M Adams; Mayer, Richard E; Tipton, Elizabeth; Green, C Shawn; Bavelier, Daphne (2018). "Meta-analysis of action video game impact on perceptual, attentional, and cognitive skills". Psychological Bulletin. 144 (1): 77–110. doi:10.1037/bul0000130. PMID 29172564. S2CID 28600362.  
  7. ^ Bavelier, Daphne; Green, C Shawn (2019). "Enhancing Attentional Control: Lessons from Action Video Games". Neuron. 104 (1): 147–163. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2019.09.031. PMID 31600511. S2CID 203931913.  
  8. ^ "Brain and Learning Lab". Bavelier Lab. 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  9. ^ "Akili Interactive". Akili Interactive. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  10. ^ "2019 Research Prize". Jacobs Foundation. 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  11. ^ Provost, Antoine; Bourdon, Valentin; Bavelier, Daphne; Pichon, Swann (2018). "Serious Game for Attention Bias Modification". TIGA Games Industry Award 2018. Finalist in the Best Educational Game category.  
  12. ^ a b c "2019 Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize Recipient Prof. Daphne Bavelier, PhD" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  13. ^ "100 Women". 100women.ch. 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  14. ^ a b "Daphne Bavelier". intelligence squared. Archived from the original on 2017-05-08. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  15. ^ "Forum des 100" (PDF). Le Temps. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  16. ^ Bavelier, Daphne; Green, C Shawn (2016). "The brain boosting power of video games". Scientific American. 315 (1): 26–31. Bibcode:2016SciAm.315a..26B. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0716-26. PMID 27348376.  
  17. ^ Bavelier, Daphne; Davidson, Richard J (2013). "Brain Training: Games to Do You Good". Nature. 494 (7438): 425–426. Bibcode:2013Natur.494..425B. doi:10.1038/494425a. PMID 23446401. S2CID 4392689.  
  18. ^ "Your brain on video games". TED. 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2020.