Our Mission

The mission of the USC Center for Mindfulness Science is to cultivate individual and societal awareness, well-being, and the relief of suffering through a scientific understanding of the impact of mindfulness and related practices on human consciousness and health.  We do this by advancing the scientific understanding of mindfulness practices and their impact on health and well-being. Through our studies we provide understanding of the biological and psychological mechanisms by which mindfulness and its potential for promoting human transformation are expressed and experienced and the results on clinical outcomes, psychological changes, and socio-emotional functioning within and between individuals and implications for social change and cultural transformation.  Lastly, we aim to establish an associated clinical service on the Keck School of Medicine / LA County-USC campuses providing mindfulness-centered clinical care for the citizens of Los Angeles, both for those with the resources to pursue care at the Keck-associated Clinics and Hospitals as well as those receiving care at the LAC+USC Medical Center, the largest community health provider in Los Angeles County.

Our Vision

A kinder, wiser, and more compassionate world through the confluence of the scientific understanding of the human mind & heart and the associated potentials for promoting human transformation and flourishing.

History

For the past several years, a number of USC investigators have been involved in mindfulness-related research across multiple domains of investigation.  The vision for a Center devoted to Mindfulness Science began in discussions between faculty with the USC Institute for Integrative Health (https://integrativehealth.usc.edu/) and led to our application for initial funding from the USC Office of Research.  The Center for Mindfulness Science was brought together through a thorough canvassing of USC faculty interested in understanding mindfulness and its relationship to well-being and health from the numerous Schools and Departments of USC.

Who We Are

The USC Center of Mindfulness is led by a group of investigators studying mindfulness across a range of disciplines. Participating faculty include Buddhist scholars, world-renowned experts on the neuroscience of feeling, emotion, and cognition as well as national experts in self-report science, social science, educational science and research across a wide range of clinical disciplines.

Directors

Associate Directors

  • Associate Director for Fundraising
    Elliott Law, M.S.
    Online Programs Manager Office of Medical Annual Giving Keck Medicine of USC
  • Associate Director for Mindfulness & Neuroimaging
    Jonas Kaplan, Ph.D.
    Assistant Research Professor, Psychology
  • Associate Director of Mindfulness & Music
    Richard Wolf
    Adjunct Professor, Thornton School of Music
  • Associate Director of Mindfulness in Clinical Education
    Ronan Hallowell, M.A., Ed.D.
    Assistant Professor of Clinical Medical Education
  • Associate Director of Mindfulness in the Arts
    William Kanengiser, M.M.
    Associate Professor of Practice in Classical Guitar

    • Program Manager

  • Saman Sedighi, MD
    Program Manager

    • Steering Committee

  • Aimon Kopera, MD Mystic Physician and Certified MAPS Psychedelic Assisted Therapist
  • Alex Maizuss Mindfulness Intervention Expert
  • Assal Habibi, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Of Research
  • Christiane Wolf, M.D., Ph.D. Associate Director for Mindfulness Instruction
  • David Black, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences
  • Deborah J. Natoli, Ph.D. Professor – Sol Price School of Public Policy
  • Eric Pedersen, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
  • Laura A. Baker, Ph.D. Professor – Department of Psychology
  • Leah Marie Buturain, Ph.D. Lecturer – Gerontology
  • Lisa Kring , LCSW Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Teacher at InsightLA
  • Maja J Matarić, Ph.D. Chan Soon-Shiong Chaired and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics
  • Mark Miller, Psy.D. Psychologist
  • Randye Semple, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry & the Behavioral Sciences
  • Shawn Roll, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy