David Presti

David E. Presti serves as Teaching Professor of Neurobiology at UC Berkeley, where he has taught in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology for over three decades. His unique expertise spans multiple disciplines, combining doctorates in molecular biology and biophysics from Caltech and clinical psychology from the University of Oregon. His research focuses on consciousness, psychopharmacology, and the mind-brain relationship. Beyond academia, he spent a decade as a clinical psychologist at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, treating thousands of patients for addiction and PTSD. Since 2003, he has been teaching neuroscience to Tibetan Buddhist monastics in India, Bhutan, and Nepal, bridging Western scientific and Buddhist contemplative traditions. His influential books include "Foundational Concepts in Neuroscience: A Brain-Mind Odyssey" and "Mind Beyond Brain: Buddhism, Science, and the Paranormal." At Berkeley, he teaches popular courses on "Brain, Mind, and Behavior," "Drugs and the Brain," and "Molecular Neurobiology and Neurochemistry," earning multiple University teaching awards. His current research explores the relationship between mental phenomena and brain physiology, particularly focusing on consciousness and psychedelic science