
Applications for the 2022 Varela Grants will open in August.
Updated September 16, 2021
The Mind & Life Francisco J. Varela Research Grants—an important and integral component of Mind & Life’s support of contemplative scientists and scholars—are based on neuroscientist and philosopher Francisco J. Varela’s belief that contemplative practices offer modern science novel, valuable methods for investigating human experience.
The Varela Grants fund rigorous examinations of contemplative practices with the ultimate goal that findings derived from such investigations will provide greater insight into contemplative practices and their applications for reducing human suffering and promoting flourishing.
Proposals are encouraged across broad domains, including: cognitive science, clinical psychology, education, anthropology, neuroscience, health/medical, social science, and humanities. Preference is given to interdisciplinary proposals that incorporate first-person contemplative methods (e.g., introspective investigation and reports on subjective experience) into cognitive, behavioral, physiological, clinical, or socio-cultural research. This grant program encourages the active collaboration of scientists with contemplative scholars/practitioners in all phases of research.
Grants of up to $20,000 (USD) are awarded annually through a competitive application, review, and selection process. Varela Grants are intended for early-career scientists and scholars. To be eligible for a 2021 Varela Grant, applicants must be either graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, or junior faculty. In addition, they must have attended the Mind & Life Summer Research Institute in 2017 or later, or the 2018 International Research Institute in Kyoto, Japan.
Please read the full Request for Proposals (RFP) for more information.
Mind & Life wishes to express our deep thanks to the Hershey Family Foundation for their generous support of this program since its inception.
**NOTE: There is a different application cycle and process for the European Varela Awards. Please visit the Mind & Life Europe website for more information. Applicants may only apply for one type of Varela grant in a given year.
For any questions about the Varela Grant program, please see the FAQ, or email VarelaGrants@mindandlife.org.
Congratulations to our
2021 Varela Grant Recipients

Varela Grant
Biological and psychological mechanisms of mindfulness meditation-based interventions for depression
Matthew Sacchet
Topics: Brain & Cognitive Science | Mental Health | Mindfulness

Varela Grant
Making data more accessible: Visualizing the Contemplative Coping during COVID-19 project
Quinn Conklin
Topics: Mental Health | Stress & Resilience

Varela Grant
Documenting Mayan Milpa biocultural heritage through embodied ethnoecology
Erika Diaz-Almeyda
Topics: Contemplative Wisdom | Environment

Varela Grant
Effects and mechanisms of smartphone-based mindfulness training on emotional well-being in at-risk college students
Polina Beloborodova
Topics: Interconnection | Mindfulness | Stress & Resilience

Varela Grant
Merging mindfulness and climate change education
Jyoti Mishra
Topics: Environment | Mindfulness

Varela Grant
The acute impact of yoga-based stretching on inflammation and its resolution: A pilot study
Dennis Muñoz Vergara
Topics: Body-based Practices

Varela Grant
Mindfulness and the reduction of racial disparities and disproportionality in school discipline
Lindsay Romano
Topics: Education | Mindfulness | Social Change
2021 Varela Grants Review Committee
Amy Finlay-Jones, PhD
Telethon Kids Institute, Australia

Robin Nusslock, PhD
Northwestern University
Elisa Torres, PhD
University of Mississippi Medical Center