CCARE
Director and Founder of Project Compassion
Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery, Stanford University
Dr. Doty is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Stanford University. He completed his undergraduate training at the University of CA, Irvine and medical school at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, LA. In addition to being a neurosurgeon, he is also an inventor, entrepreneur and philanthropist, having given support to a number of charitable organizations including Children as the Peacemakers, Global Healing and Family & Children Services. These charities support a variety of programs throughout the world including those for HIV/AIDS support, blood banks, medical care in third world countries and peace initiatives. Additionally, he has endowed chairs at major universities including Stanford University School of Medicine and his alma mater, Tulane University School of Medicine. As founder of Project Compassion, Dr. Doty works with both the Stanford Institute for Neuro-Innovation and Translational Neuroscience and a variety of scientists from a number of disciplines examining the neural bases for compassion and altruism. He is on the Board of Directors of a number of non-profit foundations including the University of Southern California Brain and Creativity Institute, the Dalai Lama Foundation and the Friends of New Orleans (FONO).
Visiting Research Scholar, Stanford Institute for Neuro-Innovation and Translational Neurosciences, Stanford University
President, Institute of Tibetan Classics
Thupten Jinpa has been a principal English translator to His Holiness the Dalai Lama since 1985. He has translated and edited more than a dozen books by the Dalai Lama including the New York Times bestseller Ethics for the New Millennium (Riverhead, 1999), Transforming the Mind (Thorsons, 2000 ), and Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality (Morgan Road Books, 2005). Jinpa's own works include Self, Reality and Reason in Tibetan Philosophy and Mind Training: The Great Collection. Thupten Jinpa received his early education and training as a monk and received the Geshe Lharam degree from Ganden Monastic University, south India. Jinpa holds B.A. Honors in Philosophy and a Ph.D. in Religious Studies, both from Cambridge University, UK, where he also worked as a research fellow in Eastern Religion. Since 1999 Jinpa has been the president of the Institute of Tibetan Classics and editor-in-chief of the Institute's The Library of Tibetan Classics series. Jinpa is an adjunct professor at McGill University’s Faculty of Religious Studies and is a senior contemplative advisor to the Mind and Life Institute, dedicated to fostering creative dialogue between the Buddhist tradition and modern science.
Senior Research Scientist, Stanford University
Emiliana Simon-Thomas earned her doctorate in Cognition Brain and Behavior at University of California, Berkeley studying the interplay between emotional and cognitive processes with Dr. Robert Knight. Using behavioral, EEG and fMRI methods, her dissertation research investigated the effects of negative emotion on higher cognition, and highlighted the important influences that negative states can have on thinking. Transitioning towards a focus on how thought processes affect emotion (appraisal, self-regulation) and on the biological underpinnings of positive and pro-social states, Dr. Simon-Thomas studied love of humanity and compassion during her postdoc, mentored by Dr. Dacher Keltner. From emotion signaling, perception and self-report to peripheral autonomic and neural activation during induced emotion, Emiliana's research with CCARE continues to examine the conceptual nature, experiential properties, biological correlates, and cultivation potential for pro-social states like compassion, as well as related acts of altruism.
Director of Compassion Education for CCARE, Stanford University
Leah Weiss Ekstrom is a Contemplative Educator whose research focuses on the application of meditation in secular contexts. She has taught in a variety of settings including at Harvard affiliated hospitals, the Boston Center for Refu-gee Health and Human Rights, the Alzheimer’s association, and the National HIV/AIDS Conference. In 2008, Leah co-founded the Foundation for Active Compassion, a nonprofit organization which provides meditation practices of compassion and wisdom to people involved in social service and social change work. Her current book projects include “Active Compassion—Meditations to Empower Those who Serve Others,” coauthored with John Makransky, and “Directions of Interreligious Pedagogy,” which explores how interreligious education can support peacebuilding efforts. Leah is trained as a meditation teacher and has engaged in extensive retreat practice in the Kagyu/Nyingma traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Leah’s work at CCARE will in-clude developing and directing the CCT professional education program as well as other educational initiatives such as the application of compassion meditation in schools.
Leah received her BA from Stanford University, her MA in clinical social work from Boston College, and her PHD in theology and education at Boston College.
Associate Director, Stanford University
Emma received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Stanford University. At Stanford, Emma worked with advisor Dr. James Gross. Her research focused on interventions to increase compassionate behavior and social connectedness. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she completed her postdoctoral research with Dr. Richard Davidson, Emma evaluated the effects of yoga- and meditation-based interventions for combat veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder. Her research fields of expertise include emotion regulation, happiness, and mind-body interventions for well-being. In addition to research, Emma often writes and speaks on these topics. Her articles have appeared in Scientific American Mind and Spirituality & Health magazine. Emma completed her undergraduate degree at Yale University and also holds a Master's Degree in East Asian Studies from Columbia University.
CCARE Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University
Dr. Yotam Heineberg earned his undergraduate degree in psychology and comparative literature at Tel Aviv University. He completed his doctorate in clinical psychology at the PGSP-Stanford consortium focusing on the cycle of violence, trauma and aggression. His dissertation, chaired by Dr. Leonard Beckum, was entitled “Post Traumatic Responses; the Extended Impact of Inner City Realities on Children and Adolescents.” Yotam’s passion has been finding effective methods for healing the cycle of violence with compassion. With his mentors Drs. Rony Berger and Philip Zimbardo, Yotam has worked hard to promote “ERASE-Stress-Pro-Social”, a school-based program that reduces post traumatic distress and increases pro social engagement in warzones and inner cities. In his clinical work, Yotam aspires to help clients cultivate self-agency, as well as self and other directed compassion. Yotam is currently directing a research project to examine the processes of heroic transformation from violence to peacemaker among former gang members. Yotam is working at CCARE, under the guidance of Dr. Lee Ross, to further discover the mechanisms of pro-social engagement and altruism, as well as develop methods to cultivate compassionate ways of being.
Program Coordinator, Stanford University
Joel is a graduate of degree in neuroscience and has had a long time interest in understanding the brain mechanisms underlying emotion including compassion and empathy. Until joining Project Compassion, he was employed at Google, Inc. most recently working with Google University and the Google School for Personal Growth.
