Associate Professor Nicholas Van Dam is the inaugural Director of the Contemplative Studies Centre. Nicholas is a highly regarded global leader in contemplative research and practice with a strong commitment to interdisciplinary dialogue and empirical rigour. His research explores the ways that meditation and mindfulness practices can support wellbeing, in pursuit of a better understanding of the human condition. He completed a PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University at Albany, SUNY (USA), and worked at New York University, the Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, and the Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, prior to joining The University of Melbourne.

Dr Julieta Galante is a Research Fellow at the Contemplative Studies Centre. She is a qualified medical doctor and previously worked in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. Julieta’s research focuses on the potential of meditation practices for mental health promotion, particularly those techniques used in public health and other secular settings. She is interested in exploring their suitability, effectiveness, and limitations. The practices Julieta has studied most comprehensively are mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation, and their impact on psychological and social outcomes. Julieta is a passionate advocate of interdisciplinary work, and of improving research quality and transparency whenever possible.