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May/June 2026

This May, the Center for Compassionate Communication marked a major milestone: 100 Fellows completing the UC San Diego Health: Sanford Compassionate Communication Academy Fellowship. This program applies arts and humanities lessons to medical communication training, improving communication between physicians and patients, and among healthcare teams.

To celebrate the achievement, the Center welcomed Fellows (also known as Affiliate Faculty) to a retreat that combined reflection, collaboration, and community-building. The gathering served not only as a recognition of the impact Fellows have made to date, but also as an opportunity to envision what's possible as this network continues to grow. 

Throughout the day, faculty engaged in facilitated self-compassion exercises and small-group discussions focused on areas of shared interest and expertise, including: clinical interactions, faculty development, nursing, trainee education, and moral distress. These conversations created space for Fellows to exchange ideas, identify common challenges, and explore opportunities for collaboration across disciplines and institutions.

      Photo credit: Lucas Cordero

The event concluded with a networking reception and celebration honoring the 100 Fellows. Each person received a commemorative pin symbolizing their commitment to compassionate communication and serving as a reminder to bring empathy and compassion into everyday interactions. 

Looking ahead, this milestone represents more than a number; it represents the growing reach of compassionate communication and the many ways Fellows are bringing those practices into patient care, education, leadership, and organizational culture. 

We invite you to join this growing movement. Apply now for the Fall 2026 cohort!

Kick off the summer with a new season of the Empathy and Compassion Research Speaker Series! It all begins on June 18 at 12 p.m. (PST) with a special presentation from Dr. Weizhe Hong of UC Los Angeles, exploring the neural foundations of prosocial behavior and how similar social behaviors emerge in artificial intelligence systems.

Join the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion and the REIMAGINE Center on June 18 at 1:30 p.m. (PST) for a powerful day of science, storytelling, and human connection.  Through expert discussion and a keynote conversation with Thupten Jinpa, PhD, attendees will explore compassion’s role in medicine, caregiving, vulnerability, and healing. 

Sanford Institute Endowed Professor Dr. Eric Garland will deliver the closing keynote at the NIH workshop, Maximizing the Impact of Mind and Body Interventions, July 24 at 3:35 p.m. (PST). His talk will explore how his MORE intervention has been adapted and expanded to address opioid misuse and addiction.

Experience three days of ideas, connection, and learning with national leaders advancing empathy and compassion in healthcare and medical education. UC San Diego faculty, staff, and student discounts available; email aelorivera@health.ucsd.edu for promo code.

In today’s fast-shifting socio-political landscape, where science and medicine intersect with public debate, it’s natural to feel weighed down by waves of misinformation, by skepticism that challenges evidence, and even by the intensity of our own emotional responses. Yet within this turbulence lies an opportunity: to transform overwhelm into empowerment, and to cultivate resilience that allows us not only to endure but to thrive. This webinar from the Center for Compassionate Communication is designed to help you shift from a place of stress and fatigue to one of strength, clarity, and purpose. 

A record 12 Sanford Scholars matched into residency programs this year, marking an exciting milestone as they take the next step in their medical careers. In addition, we are delighted to share that Sanford Scholar Sadie Munter was awarded the Foundation Achievement Award from the Department of Surgery. We congratulate this outstanding group and look forward to the impact they will make in healthcare and beyond.

Dr. Gentry Patrick, Director of the Center for Empathy and Social Justice in Human Health, and Institute-funded researcher Dr. Cassandra Vieten are among 12 awardees of the UC San Diego Strategic Convene and Influence Award. Their project, Advancing Connection Science, will explore connection as a unifying framework for empathy, compassion and belonging, while developing a research roadmap  to support student well-being. 

Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and University of South Florida have become the first partner institutions to launch the Mentor Clinician Program (MCP) within their Pediatrics departments. Facilitated by the Center for Mentorship in Medicine, the MCP pairs medical students with clinicians for mentorship that supports clinical and humanistic development. We are excited to see the MCP take root at these schools and support the development of future physicians.

Sanford Institute-funded researchers, Greg Depow and Christopher Oveis,  recently published new findings in Emotion that highlight the power of positive empathy. Their study found that individuals who genuinely share in others' positive emotions are more likely to respond enthusiastically when someone shares good news. These supportive responses were linked to stronger relationships, increased happiness, and a stronger desire to maintain the connection over time.

The Center for Empathy and Social Justice in Human Health, in partnership with the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness, recently completed the pilot of the Connected Leadership Training Program (CLTP), the inaugural initiative of the newly established Sanford Ambassador Hub.

Designed to strengthen compassionate mentorship and foster belonging among students, the program was grounded in emerging research highlighting authenticity, genuine connection, and trust as key drivers of meaningful mentor-mentee relationships.

The pilot brought together 33 mentors and mentees, and early feedback suggests participants experienced increased trust, self-compassion, resilience, and confidence, along with reduced feelings of loneliness and self-criticism.

  Photo credit: Justin Tanaka/UC San Diego

The cohort celebrated the program's completion at a closing reception on May 15, where students shared reflections on their personal and professional growth, key learnings, and the impact of the experience on their leadership journeys (as pictured above).

"The secret of the care of the patient is in caring for the patient."