Daniel Daneshvar, MD,PhD

Dr. Daneshvar is Director of the HealthSpan Lab, which investigates the biological, behavioral, and environmental factors that influence lifelong health and long-term brain function. The lab takes a systems-level approach to uncover early markers of decline, identify mechanisms responsible for risk and resilience, and develop interventions to prevent disease before it begins. Dr. Daneshvar has authored and co-authored over 100 scientific papers including in JAMA, Nature Communications, and Brain, for which he received the 2024 National Neurotrauma Society Rising Star Award. His work has been featured broadly including in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and ESPN.

He also founded Team Up Against Concussions, the first scientifically validated concussion education program for kids, for which he received the 2016 Excellence in Public Health award from the United States Public Health Services. He is the Director of the Institute for Brain Research and Innovation at TeachAids, which created CrashCourse: a free, scientifically validated virtual reality and computer-based concussion education program, for which he received the 2021 Dean’s Community Service Award from Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Daneshvar received his S.B. from MIT, and completed his M.D./Ph.D. at Boston University, where his research resulted in the first dissertation in history to study CTE. He completed residency at Stanford University before joining the faculty at Harvard Medical School.