Episode description

 Dr. David Vago is Research Associate Professor and Director of the Contemplative Neuroscience and Mind-Body (CNMB) Research Laboratory in the Department of Psychology at Vanderbilt University. He is core training faculty for the Vanderbilt Brain Institute and Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology, and Inflammation. Dr. Vago maintains a research associate position in the Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Vago is also Research Lead for the mental health and well-being platform, Roundglass. Dr. Vago has previously held the position of Research Director at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Vanderbilt and Senior Research Coordinator for the Mind & Life Institute. Dr. Vago is currently a Mind and Life Fellow, supporting the Mind and Life mission by advising on strategy and programs. He is also a consultant for the mindfulness, well-being, and psychedelic research and industry community. He received his Bachelors Degree in Brain and Cognitive Sciences in 1997 from the University of Rochester. In 2005, David received his Ph.D. in Cognitive and Neural Sciences with a specialization in learning and memory from the department of Psychology, University of Utah. Dr. Vago has completed post-doctoral fellowships in Biological and Social Psychiatry, Neuropsychiatric Neuroimaging, and Mind and Body Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Weill Cornell Medical School, and University of Utah School of Medicine. David’s research interests broadly focus on utilizing translational models to identify and characterize neurobiological and psychosocial mechanisms underlying adaptive mind-brain-body interactions and their therapeutic relevance in the context of mental health and chronic pain. Through mixed methods of neuroimaging, predictive computational modeling, neuroendocrine biomarker identification, cognitive-behavioral and first-person phenomenological analyses, Dr. Vago helps facilitate a multi-pronged research program in basic science, clinical trials, intervention development, education, and innovation. He has been a recipient of several research grants from the NIH and small foundations, has published over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, chapters, and science abstracts. His research has been covered by mainstream news outlets such as the Huffington Post, Boston Globe, Newsweek, Scientific American, and NPR, among others. As a thought leader in the field of integrative health and mindfulness research, Dr. Vago has given over 150 keynote and invited lectures, oral presentations, and grand rounds. A number of research initiatives that are ongoing, include Mapping the Meditative Mind, in which the Dr. Vago has partnered with contemporary meditation teachers and scholars to investigate psychosocial and neurobiological mechanisms supporting states of meditation across the spectrum of formal meditative expertise. Another initiative aims to identify mechanisms of engagement, identify predictors for clinical outcomes, and optimize mindfulness-based treatment interventions. Dr. Vago and his research team at Roundglass are building analytical tools for tracking health and well-being outcomes. Partner with Dr. Vago and Roundglass today In this episode, you will learn:

1. David is going to guide us as to why you should be meditating and be mindful and how you will see the evolution of your own personality in this process.

2. How do we let it go and how do we not get angry

3. Dalai Lama's style of communication and some wisdom shared during their work together