ABOUT - Contemplative Neurosciences and Mind-Body Research

Dr. Vago presenting at Mind and Life XXX, Sera Jey Monastery, India

Dr. David Vago is scientific advisor for the mindfulness, digital health, and psychedelic research community. Dr. Vago is also currently the President of the International Society for Contemplative Research. He has an academic pedigree from Vanderbilt, Harvard, Weill Cornell and University of Utah. He was most recently an Associate Professor and core training faculty for the Vanderbilt Brain Institute and Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology, and Inflammation. Dr. Vago has held a visiting faculty position as Associate Professor at the Contemplative Sciences Center, University of Virginia. He currently maintains a research associate position in the Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

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 a Mind and Life Fellow, supporting the Mind and Life mission by advising on strategy and programs. He received his Bachelor’s 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, specializing 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 the University of Utah School of Medicine.

David’s research interests broadly focus on utilizing translational and system-based models to identify and characterize neurobiological and psychosocial mechanisms underlying adaptive mind-brain-body interactions and their therapeutic relevance in mental health, chronic pain, and wellbeing. Through mixed methods of neuroimaging, cognitive-behavioral, and first-person phenomenology, Dr. Vago has led a multi-pronged translational research program that integrates basic neuroscience, clinical mechanistic trials, and cognitive-behavioral approaches. As a scientific advisor, Dr. Vago is dedicated to accelerating evidenced-based innovation in the digital health and wellbeing industry and growing the academic field of contemplative science.

As Research Lead for the mental health and well-being platform, RoundGlass, he has helped develop strategy, create research infrastructure, design innovation-driven features, and provide subject matter expertise to produce content with scientific integrity. Dr. Vago leverages his expertise in neuroscience, behavioral health, and digital innovation to offer consulting services with actionable insights, data-driven solutions, and a clear competitive edge to companies aiming to revolutionize the mental health and wellbeing landscape. For more details on types of services, check out his Services here.

Dr. Vago has received several research grants from the NIH and small foundations, and has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, chapters, and science abstracts cited over 15,000 times. His research has been covered by mainstream news outlets such as the Huffington Post, Boston Globe, Washington Post, Newsweek, Scientific American, and NPR, among others. As a thought leader in integrative health and mindfulness research, Dr. Vago has given over 150 keynote and invited lectures, oral presentations, and grand rounds. His research and theoretical work has been foundational for the field of Contemplative Science and transcends disciplines of Basic Science, Neuropsychiatry, Philosophy, and Religious Studies.

Several ongoing research initiatives include Mapping the Meditative Mind, in which 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. For more info – see Research Studies

If you are interested in partnering with Dr. Vago – see Contemplative Innovation Labs

Dr. Vago – Curriculum Vitae

FORMER LAB MEMBERS

Poppy Schoenberg, Ph.D.

Dr. Schoenberg directs a Neurophysiology Research Program at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine that seeks to elucidate; (1) neurophysiological working mechanisms of mindfulness-based interventions for a range of clinical conditions; (2) neural substrates, systems, and neurophenomenology, involved in subtle mind states and stages associated with mental training across various techniques; and (3) design innovation and novel application of neurophysiological brain-computer and brain-brain interface technologies. Extant research deliverables can be found via this link.

Resh Gupta, M.S.

Resh Gupta, M.S., is a doctoral student in the Neuroscience Program of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute. Supervised by Dr. Vago and Dr. Autumn Kujawa, Resh is currently investigating whether mindfulness-based interventions can modify behavioral and physiological (event-related potentials) markers of attentional bias to threat in clinical populations. Additionally, she is interested in determining whether mindfulness-induced modifications of these markers are associated with improved clinical symptoms. Resh is also investigating other forms of early perceptual and attentional processing in meditative adepts and novices.

Emily Mohr, M.A.

Emily was a research assistant and study coordinator in the Contemplative Neuroscience and Integrative Medicine Laboratory. Emily received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from University of North Carolina Wilmington, and a master’s degree in experimental psychology from Appalachian State University. Her graduate research focused on trauma and its effects on information processing, such as emotion identification, and attentional bias. She has been interested in the behavioral effects of mindfulness-based interventions in clinical populations with anxiety, stress, and chronic pain.