Margaret received her Ph.D. in Health Psychology from the
University of California, San Francisco and also received training
in clinical psychology. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship
in clinical immunology at the University of California, Los Angeles
(UCLA). She is an expert in the fields of health psychology and
psychoneuroimmunology and has published extensively in these
areas. She was a Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at
UCLA and the Director of the Norman Cousins Center in
Psychoneuroimmunology. Currently, she is a Professor in the
Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San
Francisco and the Director of the Health Psychology Program.
Her interdisciplinary research program focuses on the effects of
psychological factors on the neuroendocrine system, the immune
system and health/disease. Margaret is particularly interested in
how specific cognitions and emotions are linked to central and
peripheral physiological systems and health and how
psychological interventions could have emotional, physiological
and health benefits. Margaret was the Principal Investigator of the
Cultivating Emotional Balance project that evaluated effects of a
meditation/emotion regulation curriculum on psychological and
biological processes, including compassion. She also organized
and led a scientific meeting on the definition of compassion.
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