Mara Mather is among the Top 100 Minds in Berlin Science 2026 

Mara Mather, Director of the Center for Affective and Autonomic Neuroscience (CAAN) at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, has been named one of the Top 100 Minds in Berlin Science 2026. The annual Tagesspiegel list recognizes researchers whose work is shaping the scientific landscape of the German capital region. 

In its profile, the Tagesspiegel highlights Mather’s pioneering contributions to affective neuroscience. Her research explores how emotional arousal shapes attention and memory, helping explain why people vividly remember some details of emotional events while overlooking others. At the center of her work is the locus coeruleus, a tiny brainstem region involved in these processes and among the first areas of the brain to show changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease. 

Since September 2026, Mather has led the newly established Center for Affective and Autonomic Neuroscience (CAAN) at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. Together with her team, she investigates how emotions, physiological regulation processes, and brain aging are connected, and how these interactions may influence healthy aging and the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases. 

The Tagesspiegel also notes that Mather ranks among the world’s most highly cited researchers. Before joining the Max Planck Society, she was Professor of Gerontology, Psychology, and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California. She earned her undergraduate degree in psychology from Stanford University and her PhD in cognitive psychology from Princeton University.