Research Bio
Doris Tsao is a professor in the neurobiology division of the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, and the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute. She studies visual perception in primates in order to understand how the brain creates our sense of reality. She is widely recognized for her work on the neural system for face processing within the temporal lobe, clarifying its anatomical organization and coding principles. Most recently, her lab discovered that this system is part of a larger map of object space.
Research Expertise and Interest
visual perception
In the News
Berkeley Faculty Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
UC Berkeley Neuroscientist and Nanoscientist Among This Year’s Kavli Prize Winners
Featured in the Media
Imagined and perceived objects activate the same neurons and use the same neural code, according to a study co-authored by Doris Tsao, a professor of molecular and cell biology and 2024 Kavli Prize laureate. The finding could help develop prosthetic devices to restore sight.
Teaching
Supervised Internship [MCELLBI 197]
Supervised Internship [MCELLBI 197]
Supervised Independent Study and Research [MCELLBI 199]
Research Review in Neurobiology: Visual Neuroscience [MCELLBI 269P]
Research [MCELLBI 292]
Supervised Independent Study [MCELLBI 99]
Honors Research [MCELLBI H196A]
Honors Research [MCELLBI H196B]
Circuit, Systems and Behavioral Neuroscience [NEU 100B]
Senior Research Thesis [NEU 191]
Supervised Independent Study [NEU 199]
Neuroscience Graduate Research [NEU 292]
Supervised Independent Study [NEU 99]
Honors Research Thesis [NEU H196A]
Honors Research Thesis [NEU H196B]
Research in Vision Science [VISSCI 299]
Research Review in Neurobiology: Visual Neuroscience [MCELLBI 269P]
Research [MCELLBI 292]
Honors Research [MCELLBI H196A]
Honors Research [MCELLBI H196B]
Senior Research Thesis [NEU 191]
Supervised Independent Study [NEU 199]
Neuroscience Graduate Research [NEU 292]
Supervised Independent Study [NEU 99]
Honors Research Thesis [NEU H196A]
Honors Research Thesis [NEU H196B]
Introduction to Visual Neuroscience [VISSCI 260C]
Research in Vision Science [VISSCI 299]
Supervised Internship [MCELLBI 197]
Supervised Independent Study and Research [MCELLBI 199]
Supervised Internship [MCELLBI 197]
Supervised Internship [MCELLBI 197]
Supervised Independent Study and Research [MCELLBI 199]
Research Review in Neurobiology: Visual Neuroscience [MCELLBI 269P]
Research [MCELLBI 292]
Supervised Independent Study [MCELLBI 99]
Honors Research [MCELLBI H196A]
Honors Research [MCELLBI H196B]
Circuit, Systems and Behavioral Neuroscience [NEU 100B]
Supervised Independent Study [NEU 199]
Neuroscience Graduate Research [NEU 292]
Neuroscience, Film, and Philosophy [NEU 65]
Supervised Independent Study [NEU 99]
Honors Research Thesis [NEU H196A]
Honors Research Thesis [NEU H196B]
Introduction to Visual Neuroscience [VISSCI 260C]
Research in Vision Science [VISSCI 299]