Otto Simonsson

Former Postdoctoral Research Associate, Center for Healthy Minds

[email protected]

Dates of Employment: November 2020 - September 2021

Otto was a postdoctoral research associate working with Simon Goldberg and Richard Davidson. He is broadly interested in the spread of meditation in society and its effects on democracy. More specifically, he investigates the prevalence of meditation use in different countries and the effects of mindfulness-based and kindness-based interventions on affective polarization and other political intergroup biases.

Currently, he is based in Sweden, where he conducts research on meditation and psychedelics.

Education

Ph.D., Sociology, University of Oxford (UK)

M.A., International Law, School of Oriental and African Studies (UK)

B.A., International Relations, University of Birmingham (UK)