Brendan is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Life
University in Marietta, Georgia, USA. He received his doctorate in
Modern History from Oxford University in 2003, an M.Phil. from
Oxford University in Russian and East European Studies, and a
Master of Theological Studies from Boston University. From 2003
to 2005 he taught at Emory University’s Candler School of
Theology as a Post-doctoral Fellow in the Initiative in Religious
Practices and Practical Theology and as Visiting Professor of
World Religions and Spirituality. Since 2005 he has served as
Associate Director for Buddhist Studies and Practice at Drepung
Loseling Monastery, Inc., the North American branch of Drepung
Loseling Monastery in India, a center for the study of Tibetan
Buddhism and an academic affiliate of Emory University. He is
one of the lead meditation instructors for the Cognitively-Based
Compassion Training (CBCT) research at Emory. Since 2007 he
has also served as a Religious Life Scholar and Advisor on
Buddhism to the Dean of Religious Life at Emory. In his current
studies, he is working towards a second Ph.D. in Buddhist
Studies, investigating what Buddhist contemplative practices and
contemporary findings in cognitive science may have to offer
each other in terms of our understanding of the mind, body, and
health, particularly with regard to the cultivation of compassion.
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