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Greetings, grab a coffee or tea! ☕ We’ve got lots of Center updates for you.
We’re thrilled for you to be one of the first to know – our new website is officially here! While using the redesigned centerhealthyminds.org site, we hope you’ll find it to be an accessible, friendly, and easy-to-navigate experience that offers more ways to meaningfully engage with the science, research, people, news, and events at the Center for Healthy Minds.
In this latest New at the Center update, you’ll see CHM experts featured in prominent media, such as The New York Times, as well as new research updates, exciting partnership and program news, and upcoming conferences to check out.
With continued gratitude,
The Center for Healthy Minds Team
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Dr. Ross Jacobucci, CHM research assistant professor, and Dr. Brooke Ammerman, CHM affiliated faculty.
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The latest findings in this first-of-its-kind study show nighttime smartphone behavior can be an indicator of suicidal thoughts. Learn more about this work from Dr. Ross Jacobucci, CHM research assistant professor, and Dr. Brooke Ammerman, CHM affiliated faculty.
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Related: You can also dig into this extensive Q&A with Ross and Brooke to learn more about these CHM experts and their work!
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Hitting the treadmill before sitting down with your therapist may help make your therapy session more effective, according to a new study from UW–Madison researchers. Learn more about this study, which was led by Center for Healthy Minds Affiliated Faculty Dr. Jacob Meyer, with support from Dr. Simon Goldberg, CHM Core Faculty, who was on the research team. Read the article from the School of Education.
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The SIGNA MAGNUS specialized head-only MRI scanner, housed at UW’s Waisman Center. Credit: Waisman Center
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UW–Madison researchers, including experts from the CHM, are conducting detailed brain imaging work using one of the first head-only, highly specialized MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanners in the world.
In fact, only six of the “SIGNA MAGNUS” machines are used for research around the world. To find out more about why this matters to CHM research, read on!
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We’re excited to share that Day of the Badger 2026, the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s annual celebration of giving, is coming up on April 14-15! You're invited to help support the mission at the Center for Healthy Minds on Day of the Badger 2026. Bookmark our page, so you're ready for the day and join our virtual Facebook event here!
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CHM is a sponsor of this year’s International Forum on Consciousness coming up on May 21-22. With the theme of “Unspoken Intelligence: Other Ways of Knowing, Extraordinary Cognition, and the Edges of Consciousness,” the event will explore the many ways intelligence and awareness manifest beyond conventional cognition. There is a fee to register. Learn more.
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Join us for this year’s Wisconsin Symposium on Emotions hosted by CHM Founder & Director Dr. Richie Davidson and Ned H. Kalin, MD! The symposium, hosted at UW–Madison on April 22-23, will include presentations, breakout discussions, and a poster session, with opportunities to connect with fellow participants from programs across the country. There is a fee to attend. Learn more.
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From left, Dr. Richie Davidson and Dr. Alexander Gee sign a Memorandum of Understanding at the Center for Healthy Minds.
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Center for Black Excellence and Culture x Center for Healthy Minds
Exciting things are ahead for the Center for Black Excellence and Culture and the Center for Healthy Minds! Dr. Alexander Gee and Dr. Richie Davidson recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to unite, expand knowledge and increase opportunities for Black members of communities to flourish in Madison, WI, and throughout the state. CHM is thrilled to partner with the Center for Black Excellence and Culture, which will celebrate a grand opening on May 6!
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From top, clockwise: Loka Director Dekila Chungyalpa addresses the interfaith leaders at the PREP welcome dinner. Loka members Dekila, nisch neupane and Mirtha Sosa-Pacheco with participants from California, Louisiana, and Georgia. International Catholic and Buddhist interfaith leaders work through their environmental plans. Credit: Loka Initiative
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Faith Leaders’ Environmental Visions Come to Life at PREP Event
Generously supported by the Templeton World Charity Foundation, the PREP (Preparing Religious Environmental Plans) course culminated in a weeklong “Keeping the Faith” convening at the end of March in Madison, WI. Hosted by the Loka Initiative, 30 global faith leaders representing different religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, etc.) from more than eight countries, convened at the multi-day event to immerse themselves in intensive training in media, fundraising, and campaign creation to bring their environmental visions to life.
As part of the gathering, Loka hosted a public dialogue on UW–Madison’s campus between invited faith leaders and UW scientists. A panel of faith leaders took part in a cross-disciplinary exchange with UW–Madison faculty, including Dr. Richard J. Davidson and Dr. Jonathan Patz. This event offered an encounter between world religious traditions and leading scientific perspectives, focusing on our shared responsibility to the planet.
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Are you an educator or mentor who wants to gain the knowledge and practical tools to help students flourish — in a science-backed way? A new virtual/hybrid course from the Center for Healthy Minds will help you do just that! Audit the first two modules for free & earn a certificate for a fee. Learn more about The Art and Science of Human Flourishing: Essentials for Educators, available globally. Read the full article here!
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In their new book Born to Flourish, Drs. Richie Davidson and Cortland Dahl share vital knowledge behind the fact that flourishing is a trainable skill set — not a personality trait or a self-improvement project. They sat down with many high-profile media recently to discuss their careers and the future of flourishing. Check out a few of these features:
🎧 Huberman Lab Podcast ft. Dr. Richie Davidson - Listen here.
🎧 10% Happier with Dan Harris ft. Drs. Richie Davidson and Cortland Dahl - Listen here.
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CHM Core Faculty Dr. John Dunne offers a helpful explanation of why studying mindfulness isn’t a one-size-fits-all. Read now.
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Meet the people behind the Center in our CHM staff/faculty spotlight feature!
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🔶 How long have you worked at the Center?
I started in May of 2023.
🔶 What’s something about the Center or your role you think most people might not know?
The work of the Center for Healthy Minds draws on many different disciplines and perspectives and also has far-reaching impacts for a variety of people and purposes. I enjoy bridging CHM with the health disciplines. An example is that I serve on the School of Nursing’s “U-Flourish” Advisory Panel, which supports a course modeled after the Art of Science and Human Flourishing (from CHM’s Student Flourishing Initiative), and tailored for health disciplines students. For example, that could include nursing, vet med, pharmacy, medicine, public health and social work students.
🔶 What’s something interesting about you?
A few years ago, I realized a childhood dream of going dogsledding. When I was little, I would harness up my little Dachshund, Fritz, and pretend that he would mush through my pile of laundry on the floor. In real life, I went with my husband and friends to “Chilly Dogs” in Northern Minnesota and experienced a wonderful, very thrilling, extremely cold adventure.
🔶 A favorite quote, lyric or saying?
“Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” From an old hymn.
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Our Center relies on the support of competitive federal grants and the generosity of donors and foundations.
A significant portion of our funding is from generous supporters like you who give to the Center to cultivate wellbeing and relieve suffering through a scientific understanding of the mind. Learn more about CHM giving by visiting our webpage and feel free to contact Taeli Turner at Tsturner3@wisc.edu or (608) 263-3672.
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You’re an important part of the Healthy Minds community! Share the science of wellbeing and flourishing with a friend and remind them to subscribe here.
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