Richard Daneman received his Bachelor of Science at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, majoring in biochemistry.  He then received his Ph.D in developmental biology from Stanford University, where he studied the molecular mechanisms that regulate blood-brain barrier formation in the laboratory of Dr. Ben Barres.  Dr. Daneman then started his own lab as a Sandler Fellow at UCSF before moving to a position as Assistant Professor in the departments of Pharmacology and Neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego, where he is now an Associate Professor.

Dr. Daneman focuses his studies on understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate blood-brain barrier (BBB) function during health and disease.  His lab uses a combination of cellular, molecular, and genetic approaches to understand the mechanisms of BBB formation and function, addressing important questions such as:  What are the molecules in CNS vascular cells that form the BBB? What are the signaling mechanisms that regulate the formation of the BBB during development and dynamic function throughout life? What are the molecular mechanisms that lead to BBB disruption during neurological disease? The overall goal of his work is to elucidate these mechanisms, such that he will be able to develop therapeutics to modulate the barrier to treat neurological diseases.

Dr. Daneman is the receipt of a number of awards, including the Rita Allen Foundation Milton E. Cassel Scholar Award, the Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship in Neuroscience, the American Association of Anatomists Young Investigator Award, and the ASPET Neuropharmacology Early Career Award.

To learn more about Dr. Daneman’s work, visit the Daneman Lab webpage.