Cultivate well-being and relieve suffering through a scientific understanding of the mind
A kinder, wiser, more compassionate world
What if our world were a kinder, wiser, more compassionate place? A place where we exercise our minds just like we exercise our bodies? A place where transforming your mind not only improves your own well-being, but cascades to the well-being of others in your community and around the globe?
We’re making this vision a reality at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Faced with mental and physical health challenges at a global scale, we conduct rigorous scientific research to bring new insights aimed at improving the well-being of people of all backgrounds and ages.
Our research, rooted in neuroscience, comes down to one basic question: What constitutes a healthy mind?
To begin to answer this, we’ve investigated the science of emotions, contemplative practices and qualities of mind we suspect affect well-being, including attention, resilience, equanimity, savoring positive emotions, kindness, compassion, gratitude and empathy. The Center, part of one of the world’s top research institutions, benefits from cross-disciplinary collaborations in the arts and humanities, the physical and natural sciences, and the social sciences. We take pride in being a global hub for innovations in affective and contemplative neuroscience in addition to well-being across the lifespan.
Core Values
Conduct our work with rigor
We are dedicated to meeting our mission through high quality work, whether it’s research or other initiatives. We uphold these standards through continuous learning, respectfully challenging each other to improve, engaging in interdisciplinary collaborations, and intellectual humility.
Make an impact on the world
Impact is the grounding principle for all the research and work we do together. We pay attention to what our work means in the world, prioritize research and projects that have the greatest potential to promote well-being and relieve suffering, and strive to increase the reach of beneficial results of our work.
Cultivate a prosocial workplace
How we do our work together matters. We are committed to creating a workplace and community of collaborators that embodies our mission and vision. We practice this commitment by interacting with respect, kindness, compassion and gratitude toward each other and the resources we share.
We're an interdisciplinary team of researchers, scholars, staff, students and collaborators. Meet us.
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
As a research organization focused on individual and global well-being, the Center for Healthy Minds must actively create a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment where every member of the community can flourish.
This refers to every aspect of the work at the Center – from the scientific methods and communities included in the research, to people employed here and who our work ultimately benefits.
Below are three ways the Center is committed to improving diversity, equity and inclusion.
Increase the Diversity of Staff and Leadership
Simply put, who leads and implements the work influences what work is done and how it is done.
Every search for new employees at our Center will include outreach to communities of color to broaden the talent pool for a more diverse staff. Center leaders are committed to diverse representation and carefully examining from whom we regularly seek counsel and why.
Make the Research Inclusive
Research must be inclusive in order to better understand the impacts of our work across all communities. Expanding the scientific community at the Center to include more Black scholars and people of color will not only improve quality of the research, but also cultivate a workplace where all members of the community are more likely to feel valued, appreciated and free to be their true selves.
Additionally, the Center is committed to recruiting more diverse groups of people to take part in research studies to enable a deeper understanding of the skills and capacities that lead to well-being and how they can be strengthened and developed through training and experience. In our studies, we commit to including people with a broad range of life experiences so we can learn what works for whom and why. The Center will rigorously question the concepts that have evolved in the course of a privileged, white-controlled scientific enterprise so that the work can be relevant to all of humanity.
Practice a Compassionate, Equitable Worldview
A kinder, wiser, more compassionate world starts with each person. The Center and its staff will continually examine who is within the Center’s circles of trust, and how those circles affect the worldviews and decisions made by those at the Center. All members of the Center community must commit to actively educating themselves about issues of equity, inclusion, and diversity, as well as engage in the deep inner personal work needed to challenge underlying biases and assumptions. Doing this deep personal work as individuals and as a community can contribute significantly to cultivating an environment where every member of the Center is encouraged and feels comfortable sharing their experiences and ideas.
The Center is currently funding two research scholarship opportunities for under-represented populations. Contribute to the fund here or contact Lisa Gundlach with questions.

Our Funding
The Center relies on support from competitive federal grants and the generosity of donors and funders to study well-being and relieve suffering in the world.

Impact Reports
Track our progress, including the latest research findings and exciting new directions, in our FY2020 Annual Report.
You can also find past versions of our Winter 2020 Impact Report. Fall, Summer, Spring and Winter reports from 2019 are also available.