Cornelia Bargmann

Cornelia Isabella "Cori" Bargmann (born January 1, 1961) at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative from 2016 to 2022. Her parents are European immigrants. She is one of four sisters and the daughter of Rolf Bargmann, a statistician and computer scientist at the University of Georgia. She grew up playing the piano and was exposed to literature and education from a very young age. She described her family as “frighteningly well educated”. She was inspired to study science because her older sister attended medical school. She also says that growing up in the space era fostered her love for science.

Bargmann accepted a faculty position at UCSF in the department of Anatomy in 1995. She was promoted from assistant professor to professor in 1998, and served as vice chair of the department from 1999 to 2000. The work has continued to lead to a deeper understanding of the brain, sensory abilities, and neuronal development. Bargmann also identified SYG-1, a "matchmaker" molecule that directs neurons to form connections with each other during development.

In 2004, Bargmann moved to Rockefeller University. She was the co-chair of the BRAIN initiative and the Head of Science for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. She won the Breakthrough prize in Life Sciences in 2013.

For a vivid portrait of Bargmann as a young scientist working in Weinberg's lab, see Natalie Angier's book Natural Obsessions: The Search for the Oncogene.

Notable papers

Awards 1990–1995 - Lucille P. Markey Award 1997 - W. Alden Spencer Award for neuroscience research. 2003 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences 2004 - Dargut and Milena Kemali Prize for Basic and Clinical Neuroscience. 2012 - Member of the American Philosophical Society 2013 - Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for the genetics of neural circuits and behavior, and synaptic guidepost molecules 2015 - Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Sciences. 2016 - Edward M. Scolnick Prize in Neuroscience. 2021 - Salk Medal for Research Excellence. 2023 - Wistar Institute Helen Dean King Award 2024 - Gruber Neuroscience Prize