Prof. Daniela Kaufer

ACADEMIC HOSTS
Prof. Ben Maoz
School of Biomedical Engineering

Prof. Lilach Hadany
School of Plant Sciences and Food Security

Lowy Distinguished Guest Professor
24.5.26-24.7.26

Education

• B.Sc. in Biological Sciences, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel (1991–1994, with presidential distinction)
• Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel (1994–2000)
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA (2000–2005)

Professional Experience

• Director, Neuro-AI Berkeley Center for the Study of Resilience, UC Berkeley (2024–present)
• Associate Dean, Biological Sciences Division, UC Berkeley (2018–2024)
• Professor, Departments of Integrative Biology and Neuroscience, UC Berkeley (2005–present)
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University (2000–2005)

Fellowships and Memberships

• Recipient of UC Berkeley Class of ’43 Memorial Chair (2023–2028)
• HHMI Gilliam Mentorship for Advanced Study Award (2022)
• Radical Ideas in Brain Research Award (2019, 2021)
• Marry Rennie Award for Research in Epilepsy (2018)
• Rosalind and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Prize (2017)
• Archer Award for Innovation in Aging Research (2016)
• BAKAR Entrepreneurship Fellowship (2013–2018)
• NIMH Director’s New Innovator Award (BRAINS, 2009)

Research Interests

• Brain plasticity under stress and neurological insults
• Inter-individual differences in vulnerability vs. resilience
• Blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction and neural function
• Glial cell-mediated stress responses
• Effects of moderate vs. severe stress on brain and behavior
• Systems-level neuroscience integrating genetic, molecular, cellular, physiological, and behavioral analyses