Cortland Dahl, Ph.D.

Cortland Dahl, Ph.D., is a leading expert on mindfulness, meditation, and the science of wellbeing — and one of the more unusual figures in contemporary contemplative science. His path has taken him from solitary retreat in the Himalayan foothills of Nepal to the translation of ancient Tibetan meditation manuals to cutting-edge neuroscience research to the creation of a widely acclaimed meditation app. Scientist, author, translator, entrepreneur, and meditation teacher, Dahl brings rare range to a single animating purpose: using ancient wisdom and modern science to help people flourish.

In 2016, Dahl earned a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Mind, Brain, and Contemplative Science — the first degree of its kind awarded by the university. His dissertation included a now highly cited cognitive science paper proposing a taxonomy of meditation families and a new scientific framework for cultivating wellbeing, as well as the curriculum for the Healthy Minds Program, a groundbreaking meditation training that translates ancient meditative wisdom through the lens of modern science.

Following his doctorate, Dahl joined UW-Madison’s Center for Healthy Minds as a research scientist and became Chief Contemplative Officer at its affiliated non-profit, Humin. Working with designers from IDEO, he transformed his dissertation curriculum into a mobile app. The Healthy Minds Program app has since been downloaded more than one million times and featured in the New York Times, Vogue, and Sports Illustrated, among many others.

The research continues to grow. Dahl and his colleagues have conducted numerous rigorous studies examining the app’s effectiveness in reducing depression, supporting teacher mental health, and exploring foundational questions — how much meditation is enough, how to measure wellbeing, and how active meditative practice builds the capacity to flourish.

Dahl’s new book is Born to Flourish: How New Science and Ancient Wisdom Reveal a Simple Path to Thriving, co-authored by Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D.