Danielle Bassett became a postdoctoral associate from 2009–2011 at the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Sage Junior Research Fellow from 2011–2013. She is currently on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania as the Skirkanich Associate Professor of Innovation in the Department of Bioengineering. Bassett began her research by applying the concepts of network science and complex systems in order to understand the organization of the brain. She focused on the “small-world” topology of the brain, which refers to networks and the way in which they express dense local clustering and how the presence of connections leads to a short path of communication between distant nodes. Her research team applied mathematical concepts in graph theory to small-world analysis to quantify cortical connectivity. The small-world models she produced introduced a means to understanding the brain's structure and function. These topological measures developed early in her career were used to examine the cortex and its divisions and wiring to determine the properties that the cortex has. She found that of the various cortical regions, the multimodal portion of the cortex has hierarchical organizations with low clustering, and the transmodal portion was more assortative. Bassett applied these concepts to schizophrenic individuals and noticed that the organization of these portions were abnormal with increasing connection distances. Bassett continues to research the implications of network behaviors on mental disorders, particularly schizophrenia. She also has worked with Fabio Pasqualetti to attempt to apply control theory to her studies of the brain; their initial study on the subject was published in 2015. Bassett and her team have also been conducting research regarding brain flexibility. Brain flexibility is how often a region of the brain switches communication patterns. The more often the brain switches patterns, the more flexible the brain is. They have also found correlations between the ability for the brain to learn and the flexibility of the brain. Her research may have implications in rehabilitation, particularly in patients who have had a stroke.
Awards and honors
During her undergraduate studies, Danielle Bassett was the sole recipient of the Paul Axt Prize, which is given to a student who demonstrates commitment to inquiry and fosters intellectual curiosity. She was also a Schreyer Honors Scholar and was named the Most Achieving Undergraduate Woman of the Year in 2004. She received the Winston Churchill Scholarship and the National Institute of Health- Cambridge Health Science Scholarship to fund her graduate education. Bassett received the Alumni Achievement Award from the Schreyer Honors College at Pennsylvania State University for extraordinary accomplishment under 35 years of age. She was named American Psychological Society “Rising Star” in December 2012. In January 2014, Bassett won the Sloan Research Fellowship. Most notably, she was one of the 21 winners of the MacArthur Research Fellowship in September 2014. In 2016, she was named one of the ten most brilliant scientists of the year by Popular Science magazine. In 2018, she received the Erdős–Rényi Prize for her “fundamental contributions to our understanding of the network architecture of the human brain".
Personal life
Danielle Bassett is married to Lee C. Bassett, physics professor at the University of Pennsylvania. They have two children. During her earlier years she enjoyed being a member of the rowing team of King's College, Cambridge. Her twin is Perry Zurn, professor at the Department of Philosophy at American University.
