Elissa Epel
Elissa Epel, Ph.D, is an international expert on stress, well being, and optimal aging and a best-selling author. She is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, at University of California, San Francisco, where she is Vice Chair of Psychology and directs the Aging Metabolism Emotions Center (amecenter.ucsf.edu). She studies the environmental, psychological, behavioral and social factors that impact cellular aging and mental health, and is also focusing on climate distress and wellness. She studies how self care practices such as meditation and positive stress can promote psychological and physiological thriving, and is interested in large scale interventions for communal well being and health equity. She is the director of the new Mental Health Council of the UC wide Center for Climate, Health and Equity. She co-wrote the New York Times best seller “The Telomere Effect: A revolutionary approach to living younger, longer” with Nobel Laureate Elizabeth Blackburn (which is in 30 languages) and the new “Stress Prescription,” an independent bookstore best seller. She enjoys leading science-based meditation retreats.
Epel is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, past President of the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research and co-chair of the Mind & Life Institute Steering Council. Epel’s research has been featured in venues such as TEDMED, Wisdom 2.0, NBC’s Today Show, CBS’s Morning Show, 60 minutes, National Public Radio, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and science documentaries. In 2022, she was named as a highly cited researcher, among the top .1% globally, based on publication impact.
Website: www.elissaepel.com
“We have the technology and knowledge to bend the curve on global warming now, but we don’t have the political will. By building a courageous climate resilient mindset, communally, in a critical mass of people, we will bring wise solutions along with the contagion of love for all life, and we will reach our social tipping point, where public will becomes political will.”