Trained in Biology at the Ecole Normale Superieure de Paris, Professor Bavelier then received a PhD in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, USA before specializing in human brain plasticity at the Salk Institute, San Diego, USA.
She joined the faculty at Georgetown University , Washington DC USA, in the Neurology department, before moving in 1999, to the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department at the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA. In 2011, she was named Professeur Ordinaire in the faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences at the University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Over the years, Dr Bavelier has authored more than 100 scientific papers, received various awards including recently the 2019 Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize endowed with one million Swiss Francs for her research on promoting brain plasticity and learning through play. As part of her interest on how to leverage the power of new media for health and education, she is a co-founding scientific advisor of Akili Interactive, a company which develops clinically-validated cognitive therapeutics that exploit video games. Over the years, she has also acted as an expert to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy or to the World Economic Forum for projects such as the global agenda project on ‘New Vision for Education: Unlocking the potential of technology’, or the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Human Enhancement.
Laboratory
Research Team