Mind & Life Fellows
Mind & Life Fellows are distinguished leaders in their respective field of expertise who together comprise a network of excellence in the study of the mind and contemplative research.
History
Inaugurated in 2009, the first Fellows were given their designation based on contributions to Mind & Life programs. Since that time and with the growth of our field, Fellowship has matured beyond a simple designation. Today, the Mind & Life Fellows Program is a formal effort to mobilize and engage a global network of notable scientists, scholars, changemakers and contemplative practitioners. Fellows represent diverse disciplines, sectors and traditions, though all are aligned with the Mind & Life Institute’s mission, vision and core values.
What is a Mind & Life Fellow?
Fellows are selected for this honor based on their exemplary work and are not required to fulfill specific duties, yet are encouraged to support and serve Mind & Life in ways that meaningfully resonate. Most importantly, Fellows provide critical insight and service to Mind & Life programs and community-building initiatives.
Ongoing revisions to the program include a greater diversification and internationalization of Fellows and new opportunities for networking and mentorship between Fellows and more junior members of the Mind & Life community.
Types of Mind & Life Fellows
- Research Fellow – A scientific (basic, clinical or social sciences) or humanistic researcher or scholar engaged in contemplative sciences and/or studies.
- Leadership Fellow – A thought leader or change-maker who facilitates application of contemplative interventions into real world settings.
- Contemplative Fellow – A contemplative teacher and practitioner who engages in dialogue with scientists and scholars.
Principles of the Fellows Program
- Honorary fellowship to select group of experts from multiple disciplines who have contributed significantly to the Mind & Life mission and broader community.
- Service in the Fellows Program is strictly voluntary.
- Once confirmed by the Steering Council, Fellows are tenured for life.
- No formal time commitment is required of Fellows, unless a Fellow is asked to join a specific Mind & Life program or activity, for which time expectations are delineated.
Benefits of Being a Mind & Life Fellow
- Participate in Mind & Life Fellows’ programs and special events.
- Engage and collaborate with a global network of influential leaders committed to contemplative scholarship and practice.
- Meet and mentor junior contemplative scientists, scholars and practitioners.
- Receive recognition and have your work highlighted in Mind & Life communications.
Eligibility Criteria to be a Mind & Life Fellow
- Has made significant contributions to the mission and vision of the Mind & Life Institute and more broadly to contemplative sciences, studies and practice through her/his scholarship, activities and influence.
- Is or has been involved with the Mind & Life Institute.
- Has been an invited presenter at a Mind & Life program (Dialogue, Summer Research Institute, International Symposium or legacy program).
- Has served on a Mind & Life committee (program planning, grant review, Steering Council, board, etc.).
- Has partnered or collaborated on a Mind & Life program or grant.
- Exemplifies qualities that align with the Mind & Life mission, vision, and core values (rigor, kindheartedness, integrity, synergy and community).
Nominating a New Fellow
The Mind & Life Institute is committed to building a rigorous community of interdisciplinary contemplatives, scholars and scientists which depends upon diversity of perspectives and experiences. Fellows are encouraged to consider candidates of all races, genders, ages, religions and sexual orientations in the nominating process. Service in the Fellows program is strictly voluntary. No fee is required.
Current Mind & Life Fellows and staff members at the Mind & Life Institute are eligible to nominate others who meet the criteria for being a Fellow (see below). Mind & Life Fellows are encouraged to nominate new Fellows who would contribute to the diverse global network of distinguished Mind & Life Fellows across the three different types of fellowship: Research, Leadership and Contemplative.
The Nomination Process
- Complete and submit the nomination form
- Once a nomination is submitted, each nominee will be notified via email and prompted to accept or decline their nomination
- Once accepted, each nominee is invited to complete a personal profile and statement, as well as submit their resume/CV.
- Nominations are reviewed and selected annually each fall by the Mind & Life Steering Council.
- New Fellows will be notified by November 15 each year.
*Note that the deadline for nominations this year will be October 23, 2017.
If you have any suggestions or questions regarding these revisions to the Fellows program, or about future directions of the program, please direct your query to programs@mindandlife.org.
Nominate a Fellow
Adam Anderson, PhD
Cornell University
Joanna Arch, PhD
University of Colorado–Boulder
Anthony Back MD
University of Washington
Daniel Barbezat, PhD
Amherst College
Larry Barsalou, PhD
University of Glasgow, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology
Dan Batson, PhD
University of Kansas (retired)
Susan Bauer-Wu, PhD, RN, FAAN
Mind & Life Institute, President
Peter Baumann
The Baumann Foundation
Kent Berridge, PhD
University of Michigan
Michel Bitbol, PhD
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France
Bhikku Bodhi, PhD
The Bodhi Monastery
Sarah Bowen, PhD
Pacific University
Julie Brefczynski-Lewis, PhD
West Virginia University
Judson Brewer, MD/PhD
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Willoughby Britton, PhD
Brown University
John Canti, MA, MB, BChir
Tsadra Foundation
Linda Carlson, PhD
University of Calgary, Canada
Ram-Prasad Chakravarthi, DPhil.
Lancaster University, UK
Diana Chapman Walsh, PhD
Wellesley College, President Emerita
Khen Rinpoche Jangchup Choeden, Abbot
Gaden Shartse Monastery, India
Kalina Christoff, PhD
University of British Columbia, Canada
John Christopher, PhD
Independent
George P. Chrousos, MD
University of Athens Medical School, Greece
Dekila Chungyalpa, MA
World Wildlife Fund
Yale University 2014 McCluskey Fellow
Jim Coan, PhD
University of Virginia
J. David Creswell, PhD
Carnegie Mellon University
Geshe Dorji Damdul, Geshe
Tibet House, India
Richard Davidson, PhD
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Sona Dimidjian, PhD
University of Colorado
James R. Doty, MD
Stanford University
Andrew Dreitcer, PhD
Claremont School of Theology
Georges Dreyfus, PhD
Williams College
John Dunne, PhD
University of Wisconsin–Madison
John Durant, PhD
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Jacquelynne Eccles, PhD
University of California–Irvine
Stuart Eisendrath, MD
University of California-San Francisco
Paul Ekman, PhD
University of California–San Francisco, (retired);
Paul Ekman Group (PEG), LLC
Adam Engle
Mind & Life Institute, President Emeritus
Elissa Epel, PhD
University of California–San Francisco
Monique Ernst, PhD
National Institutes of Health
Norman Farb, PhD
University of Toronto, Canada
Wendy Farley, PhD
San Francisco Theological Seminary
Ernst Fehr, PhD
University of Zurich, Switzerland
Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD
Northeastern University
Brent Field, PhD
Princeton University
Wulstan Fletcher
Tsadra Foundation
Vibeke Asmussen Frank, PhD
Aarhus University, Denmark
Barbara Fredrickson, PhD
University of North Carolina
Richard Freeman
Yoga Workshop
David Fresco, PhD
Kent State University
Rahul Garg, PhD
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India
Eric Garland, PhD
University of Utah College of Social Work
Rip Gellein, MBA
Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc.
Mind & Life Institute, Vice Chair, Treasurer
Bill George, MBA
Harvard Business School
David Germano, PhD
University of Virginia
Rupert Gethin, PhD
University of Bristol, UK
Philippe Goldin, PhD
University of California – Davis
Joseph Goldstein
Insight Meditation Society
Daniel Goleman, PhD
Psychologist, Author
Sherryl Goodman, PhD
Emory University
Marcia Grabowecky, PhD
Northwestern University
Mark Greenberg, PhD
Penn State University
Peter Grossenbacher, PhD
Naropa University
Paul Grossman, PhD
University Hospital Basel, Switzerland
Tho Ha Vinh, PhD
Gross National Happiness Centre, Bhutan
Joan Halifax, PhD, Roshi
Upaya Zen Center
Diego Hangartner, PharmD
Institute of Secular Ethics and Mental Balance (ISEMB), Switzerland
Bill Harbaugh, PhD
University of Oregon
Anne Harrington, PhD
Harvard University
Maria Heim, PhD
Amherst College
Barry Hershey, MFA
Filmaker
Zara Houshmand
Author, Translator
Yoshiro Imaeda, PhD
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France
Carolyn Jacobs, PhD
Dean Emerita, Smith School for Social Work
Patricia (Tish) Jennings, PhD
University of Virginia
Amishi Jha, PhD
University of Miami
Thupten Jinpa Langri, PhD
Institute for Tibetan Classics, Canada
Mind & Life Institute, Chair
Bryce Johnson, PhD
Exploratorium
Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Rajesh Kasturirangan, PhD
National Institute of Advanced Studies, India
Al Kaszniak, PhD
University of Arizona
Catherine Kerr, PhD (Deceased)
Brown University
Barry Kerzin
Altruism in Medicine Institute
Shinobu Kitayama, PhD
University of Michigan
Anne Klein, PhD
Rice University
Christof Koch, PhD
California Institute of Technology
Jack Kornfield, PhD
Spirit Rock Meditation Center
Elisa Kozasa, PhD
Instituto Israelita de Ensino e Pesquisa Albert Einstein
Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Brazil
Linda Lantieri, MA
Inner Resilience Program
Richard Layard, PhD
London School of Economics, UK
Marc Lewis, PhD
Retired Author
Geshe Lhakdor, Geshe
Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, India
Diana Liverman, PhD
University of Arizona
Antoine Lutz, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Richard Maddock, MD
University of California-Davis
Rhonda Magee, JD/MA
University of San Francisco School of Law
John Makransky, PhD
Boston College
Sara McClintock, PhD
Emory University
Sallie McFague, PhD
Vancouver School of Theology, Canada
David McMahan, PhD
Franklin & Marshall College
David Meyer, PhD
University of Michigan
Donald Morrison, MBA
Research in Motion (Retired
Yoshio Nakamura, PhD
University of Utah
Geshe Dadul Namgyal
Emory University
Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi, PhD
Emory University
Drepung Losling Monastery
Lis Nielsen, PhD
National Institute on Aging, NIH
Gregory Norris, PhD
Harvard University
Andrew Olendzki, PhD
Barre Center for Buddhist Studies
Giuseppe Pagnoni, PhD
University of Modena, Italy
Ken Paller, PhD
Northwestern University
Clare Palmer, DPhil
Texas A&M University
Sharon Parks, ThD
Leadership for the New Commons
Luiz Pessoa, PhD
University of Maryland
Claire Petitmengin, PhD
Institut Mines-Telecom, France
Sheryl Petty, EdD
Equity, Personal Transformation & Systems Change Consultant
Movement Tapestries, LLC
john powell, JD
University of California–Berkeley
Charles Raison, MD
University of Arizona
Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath, PhD
Center for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, India
Laura Rendón, PhD
University of Texas-San Antonio
Matthieu Ricard, PhD
Shechen Monastery, Nepal
Tsoknyi Rinpoche
Pundarika Foundation
Andreas Roepstorff, PhD
Aarhus University, Denmark
Robert Roeser, PhD
The Pennsylvania State University
Erika Rosenberg, PhD
University of California-Davis, Erika Rosenberg Consulting
Harold Roth, PhD
Brown University
Bunker Roy
Barefoot College, India
Baljinder Sahdra, PhD
Australian Catholic University, Australia
Sharon Salzberg
Insight Meditation Society
Geshe Ngawang Samten
Central University of Tibetan Studies, India
Saki Santorelli, EdD
University of Masschusetts Medical School
Cliff Saron, PhD
University of California – Davis
Kimberly Schonert-Reichl, PhD
University of British Columbia, Canada
Zindel Segal, PhD
University of Toronto, Canada
Pamela Seigle, PhD
Wellesley College
Peter Senge, PhD
MIT Sloan School of Management
Catherine Shaddix, MA
UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine
Baywell Psychiatry Group
Bennett Shapiro, PhD
Merck Research Laboratories (retired)
Robert Sharf, PhD
University of California–Berkeley
Shinsuke Shimojo, PhD
California Institute of Technology
Joan Silk, PhD
University of California–Los Angeles
Tania Singer, PhD
Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Germany
Wolf Singer, MD, PhD
Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI)
Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Germany
Michael Spezio, PhD
Scripps College
Aaron Stern
Academy for the Love of Learning
P.N. Tandon, PhD
President, National Brain Research Center, India
Mary Taylor
Yoga Workshop
Evan Thompson, PhD
University of British Columbia, Canada
Hilary Tindle, MD, MPH
Vanderbilt – Ingram Cancer Center
John Tresch, PhD
University of Pennsylvania
Jeanne Tsai, PhD
Stanford University
David Vago, PhD
Harvard Medical School
Martijn van Beek, PhD
University of Aarhus, Denmark
William Waldron, PhD
Middlebury College
B. Alan Wallace, PhD
Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies
Peter Wayne, PhD
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Helen Weng, PhD
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Rona Wilensky, PhD
PassageWorks Institute
Carol Worthman, PhD
Emory University
Arthur Zajonc, PhD
Amherst University (retired)
Vicki Zakrzewski, PhD
Greater Good Science Center
Fadel Zeidan, PhD
Wake Forest School of Medicine
Phil Zelazo, PhD
University of Minnesota