The Center for Investigating Healthy Minds

David Bachhuber, BS

Research Specialist

Email

David is the manager for the NIH/NCCAM funded Well-Being Study which aims to examine the impact of training in well-being enhancing practices on affect, attention, sleep and stress.

David's previous work includes studies of deception, aging in the United States, and a methodological study examining best practices for removing muscle based signals from EEG data.

Amelia Cayo, BS

Associate Research Specialist

Amelia is a member of the experimental team for the NCCAM-funded Well-Being Study. She is involved with running data collection sessions using hdEEG, fMRI, and other various behavioral measures.

Olivia Thompson-Davies

Undergraduate Administrative Assistant

Olivia provides administrative support for the Center’s day-to-day functions and assists in the coordination of the Change Your Mind Change the World 2013 event. She is a senior at UW-Madison, double majoring in Medical Microbiology and Immunology as well as Spanish.

Isa Dolski

Administrative Director

Email

Isa is the Administrative Director for the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging & Behavior, the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience and the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds. She deals with issues in the areas of: lab coordination, resources, personnel, facilities, grants, undergraduate research assistants and web maintenance. She also administers the Training Program in Emotion Research.

Leo Dreyfuss

Administrative Manager

A recent UW-Madison graduate with degrees in Biology and Business, Leo leverages his background in science and technology to manage the Center's administrative functions. He is the project leader for the Change your Mind Change the World 2013 event. As an undergraduate, Leo worked at the Center as a research assistant and for UW Division of Information Technology (DoIT) as a Website manager. He also coordinated a Sustainability Conference for the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council.

Abigail Freeman

Research Intern

As a data collector, Abigail assists with protocol development, facilitates research sessions, and assists with data analysis. She is focusing on the effects of games designed for training well-being using fMRI and various behavioral methods.

Simon Goldberg, BA

Graduate Research Assistant

Email

Simon assists with project management, data collection, and data analysis for translational intervention research investigating the effects of mindfulness and kindness training on children and adolescents. He is a graduate student in counseling psychology and has an interest in the attentional, interpersonal, and affective impact of mindfulness and compassion training on children and adults. He is also interested in alternatives to self-report methodologies for assessing these traits (and/or states) and in the effects and mechanisms of psychotherapeutic interventions more generally.

Awards: 2010 University Fellowship, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Jeanne Harris, BS

Research Specialist

Email

Jeanne is the Recruitment Coordinator for the Games & Well-Being Study which will investigate the effects of video game playing on the brains and behavior of 7th and 8th graders. She has a B.S. in Behavioral Disabilities from the University of WI School of Education and was trained as a psychometrist at the UW-Madison Neuropsychology Laboratory. She has worked with the Patient, Doctor & Society program at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.

Susan Jensen, MS

Assistant to Richard J Davidson

Email

Susan is the primary contact for CIHM founder and chair, Richie Davidson and provides support for a variety of Center related activities. Susan coordinates local scientific meetings and scheduling for Dr. Davidson and the Center. She also assists in grant preparation, event planning and has managed several aspects of the Center’s remodeling project and web site management.

Sonam Kindy

Research Intern

Email

As a Research Intern, Sonam is assisting with the development, data collection and analyses of the physiological study of meditation practitioners in India. She also continuing that same work with studies conducted here that examine the mechanisms behind mind wandering and attention.

Tammi Kral, BS

Associate Research Specialist

Email

Tammi is a member of the experimental team for the NCCAM-funded Well-Being Study. She is responsible for data collection using fMRI, hdEEG and various behavioral and physiological measures. She also processes and analyzes fMRI data from an emotion regulation task.

Barb Mathison

Executive Director

Email

Barb provides overall management for CIHM. She also works with CIHM leadership on strategic planning and implementation, including clarifying priorities, funding plans and a global outreach agenda.

Barb has over 20 years of health care administration leadership, extensive experience on non-profit boards and a deep commitment to fostering high-functioning teams within a culture of compassion.

Barb continues as a student of meditative/contemplative practices.

Lionel Newman

Associate Research Specialist

Email

Lionel coordinates recruitment, data collection, and data entry for translational intervention research investigating the effects of mindfulness and kindness curriculum in classroom settings. He is interested in the cognitive and neural correlates of skillful communication and understanding, and previously worked as manager for a neurolinguistics laboratory at Northwestern University. He holds a BS in Psychology and a BA in English and is a lifelong meditation practitioner who has practiced in Thailand.

Laura Pinger, MS

Outreach Specialist

Educational programming

Email

Laura serves as the primary liaison between the CIHM and local school systems in the development of educational programming and curriculum focused on mindfulness meditation. With thirty years of teaching experience and nine years of teaching affiliation with the UW Health Integrative Medicine Mindfulness Program, Laura works with educators and students in the development and teaching of meditation-based classes. She coordinates with CIHM researchers and school administrators for the teaching of this curriculum and the collection of data as part of translational research protocol. Laura has completed the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Professional Training with the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, and she is also certified in the areas of Transpersonal Psychology and Internal Family Systems. Her interests include mindfulness in relationships, parenting practices, and teaching children. Laura is a lifelong yoga practitioner, completing her teacher training in 1995.

Alison DeShaw Rowe, BA, MA

Director of Marketing and Communications

Email

Alison is focused on enhancing the center’s marketing and communications efforts to increase awareness of its mission and work, strengthen engagement with key constituencies and expand CIHM’s global reputation and support base. Alison brings more than 13 years of experience in strategic communications, including seven years at a major medical center foundation and several years at a leading public relations firm. She holds a BA in Journalism and a MA in Public Relations and Advertising.

Molly Schmidt

Director of Development

Email

In partnership with the UW Foundation, Molly manages CIHM's major gift efforts and annual giving initiatives and works to strengthen relationships with donors and friends of the Center. Molly brings over eight years of successful non-profit experience to the Center, with the last four years focused specifically on building xternal relationships and development. She has a strong background in communications, project management and event planning and holds a MA degree from the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. Most recently she served in leadership roles at the UW-Madison's School of Business and Loyola University Health System in Chicago.

Ann Marie Steib

Student Communications Intern

Email

Ann Marie works with the CIHM administrative team and supports CIHM's communications staff. She supports content management on the Center's social media channels. Ann Marie is passionate about the utilization of social media in expanding CIHM's global presence, and has previously done work for other UW research institutes as a data collector and coordinator. She is a junior studying Strategic Communication and Political Science.

Liz Vanderwerff

Development Specialist

Liz plans and manages CIHM events, supports the Development Director in fundraising efforts, and works to build community and campus relations. Liz previously worked in the lab as a research specialist and uses her scientific knowledge to effectively communicate CIHM's research to draw in support.