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Richard J. Davidson    

Professor of Psychology & Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Richard J. Davidson is a William James and Vilas Research Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, as well as Director of the Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research is broadly focused on the neural bases of emotion and emotional style and methods to promote human flourishing including meditation and related contemplative practices.

He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Psychology and has been at Wisconsin since 1984. He has published more than 375 articles, numerous chapters and reviews and edited 14 books.

Dr. Davidson is the author (with Sharon Begley) of The Emotional Life of Your Brain published by Penguin in 2012. He is co-author with Daniel Goleman of the forthcoming book, Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body, to be published by Penguin Books in September 2017.

He is the recipient of numerous awards for his research including the William James Fellow Award from the American Psychological Society. He was the Founding Co-Editor of the new American Psychological Association journal EMOTION. He was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in 2006.

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