Elli Weisbaum, PhD is currently based at the University of Toronto as an Assistant Professor (teaching stream) in the Buddhism, Psychology and Mental Health program (BPMH), with a cross-appointment to the Dalla Lana School of Public Health in their Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME). She completed her PhD through the Institute of Medical Science (IMS) in the Faculty of Medicine at UofT, with a focus on applying mindfulness to physician wellbeing. At the heart of her research is an interest in exploring how Applied Mindfulness can be one modality to support the cultivation of healthy occupational environments where clinicians, patients, family, staff and administers can flourish and thrive. Her work draws upon research from the fields of neuroscience, education, healthcare and the workplace to examine how the scientific evidence base for mindfulness is being integrated and operationalized across key sectors of society.
She has worked internationally facilitating mindfulness workshops and retreats within the sectors of education, healthcare and business. She was a member of the Mindfulness Project Team at The Hospital for Sick Children for over six years. Past and ongoing collaborations include working with UofT’s Faculty of Law, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Faculty of Engineering, Rotman School of Management, Physical Therapy Department, the Ontario Hospital Association and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to integrate mindfulness into programming for faculty, staff and students. She attended her first retreat with Zen Master and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh at the age of ten and has continued to train with his international Plum Village community. Elli’s novel background in both academic research and traditional mindfulness practice provides a distinct approach to her ongoing work teaching and researching in the field.
www.elliweisbaum.com