October 2025

FEATURE 

Last month, the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion flew to Leicester, UK, to attend the Global Empathy in Healthcare Network Symposium: “Rehumanizing Healthcare in a Divided World." This event convened health care leaders, educators, and researchers from around the world to share best practices, exchange new ideas, and strengthen the global movement to restore empathy and compassion at the heart of health care.

Symposium topics explored how human connection can be preserved and strengthened in today’s increasingly digital and fragmented healthcare systems. Through keynote talks, workshops, and collaborative discussions, participants examined practical strategies for embedding empathy in both traditional and technology-driven models of care.

The Sanford Institute was well represented at the event:

🔹 Dr. William Mobley, Founding Institute Director and Director of the Center for Research on Empathy and Compassion, delivered a talk on the importance of empathy and compassion in healthcare leadership and innovation.

🔹 Dr. Evonne Kaplan-Liss, Director of the Center for Compassionate Communication, presented “Improving Compassionate Communication: Outcomes and Mechanisms for Transformation,” highlighting how innovative arts and humanities–based training programs can transform clinician–patient communication.

🔹 Dr. Hoda Soltani, Associate Director of the Center for Research on Empathy and Compassion, received the Best Poster Award for her poster on the “Mentorship in Medical Education: Enhancing Empathy and Patient-Centered Care in Clinical Clerkships.” Co-authored with the Center for Mentorship in Medicine team, the poster highlighted the Mentor Clinician Program and its role in fostering empathy through mentorship in medical education programming at UC San Diego School of Medicine. 

In addition to the abovementioned contributions, Sanford Institute representatives engaged in valuable networking and collaboration with global leaders in empathy and compassion. The symposium underscored the importance of international partnerships in advancing compassionate, patient-centered care, and highlighted the growing momentum of the empathy movement worldwide.

COMMUNICATION

Want to use your expertise to inform the public and advocate for the policies and values you support? Join our free virtual workshop next week on writing effective op-eds and letters to the editor. This workshop will be especially relevant for health care leaders, medical educators, and researchers seeking to amplify their voices beyond the clinic, classroom, or lab, and contribute to public conversations with scientific accuracy.

RESEARCH

The Sanford Institute is joining forces with National Academies’ Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders for the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting. Intended for Annual Meeting attendees, we will convene leaders across neuroscience and medicine for a networking social, exploring breakthroughs in the neurobiology of empathy and compassion are driving new treatments, healthier systems, and more human-centered care. 

TECHNOLOGY

Is AI changing how we connect – or reminding us why connection matters? Join us in-person this December for a multi-speaker forum at UC San Diego. The Center for Empathy and Technology will gather international tech experts to explore the future of empathy, care, and technology. This free event is made possible with support from a UC San Diego Strategic Convene and Influence Award.

NEWS

— The Center for Compassionate Communication is now recruiting for the Spring 2026 Cohort of the UC San Diego Health: Sanford Compassionate Communication Academy Fellowship. This Fellowship supports the development of outstanding UC San Diego physicians, nurses, APPs, and medical educators in becoming leaders in compassionate communication, enriching their ability to connect with patients, peers, and beyond. Learn more and apply.

— The Lead With Compassion Workshop is coming to UC San Diego next April 2026! This arts- and humanities-based leadership training is designed for health care professionals and medical educators who want to discover empathic and compassionate principles that can enhance their clinical practice, medical teaching, and leadership performance in health care. Special registration rate available for UC San Diego faculty. Register now.

— Center for Compassionate Communication Affiliate Faculty Member Dr. Rachna Subramony was recently featured on the "Be A Health Architect" Podcast to discuss the topic of overcoming physician burnout. Listen now.

RESOURCES

This free, on-demand webinar, hosted by the Center for Compassionate Communication and veteran CBS News broadcast executive Marcy McGinnis, shows you how to prepare for media interviews with various audiences and get camera-ready in an inclusive, supportive environment.