Cort currently serves as a contemplative scientist at the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Healthy Minds, one of the world’s leading research centers focused on the cultivation of well-being and flourishing. His work is focused on the interface between the body, mind and brain, and especially in the question of how various forms of meditation may help us cultivate positive qualities like mindfulness, compassion and resilience.

Featured Articles

• Dahl, C. J., Wilson-Mendenhall, C. H., & Davidson, R. J. (2020). The plasticity of well-being: A training-based framework for the cultivation of human flourishing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
• Dahl, C. J. & Davidson, R. J. (2019). Mindfulness and the contemplative life: Pathways to connection, insight, and purpose. Current Opinion in Psychology, 28, 60-4.
• Dahl, C. J., Lutz, A., & Davidson, R. J. (2015). Reconstructing and deconstructing the self: Cognitive mechanisms in meditation practice. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 19(9), 515–23. 

Research on the Healthy Minds Program

• Goldberg, S. B., Dahl, C. J., Bolt, D. M., Davidson, R. J., & Hirshberg, M. J. (2024). Does it matter how meditation feels? An experience sampling study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
• Goldberg, S. B., Kendall, A. D., Hirshberg, M. J., Dahl, C. J., Nahum-Shani, I., Davidson, R. J., & Bray, B. C. (2024). Is dosage of a meditation app associated with changes in psychological distress? It depends on how you ask. Clinical Psychological Science.
• Hirshberg, M.J., Dahl, C.J., Bolt, D.M., Davidson, R.D., & Goldberg, S.B. (2024). Psychological Mediators of Reduced Distress: Preregistered Analyses from a Randomized Controlled Trial of a Smartphone-Based Well-Being Training Clinical Psychological Science.
• Kral, T. R. A., Kesebir, P., Redford, L., Dahl, C., Wilson-Mendenhal, C., Hirshberg, M. J., Davidson, R. J., & Tatar, R. (2024). Healthy Minds Index: A brief measure of the core dimensions of wellbeing. PLOS ONE, 19(5), e0299352. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299352.
• Riordan, K. M., Simonsson, O., Frye, C., Vack, N. J., Sachs, J., Fitch, D., Goldman, R. I., Chiang, E. S., Dahl, C. J., Davidson, R. J., & Goldberg, S. B. (2024). How often should I meditate? A randomized trial examining the role of meditation frequency when total amount of meditation is held constant. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 71(2), 104-114.
• Xie, Q., Dyer, R. L., Lam. S., Frye, C., Dahl, C. J., Quanbeck, A., Nahum-Shani, I., Davidson, R. J., & Goldberg, S. B. (2024). Understanding the implementation of informal meditation practice in a smartphone-based intervention: A qualitative analysis. Mindfulness, 15, 479–490.
• Xie, Q., Riordan, K. M., Baldwin, S. A., Simonsson, O., Hirshberg, M. J., Dahl, C. J., Nahum-Shani, I., Davidson, R. J., & Goldberg, S. B. (2024). Is informal practice associated with outcomes in loving-kindness and compassion training? Evidence from pre-post and daily diary assessments. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 177, 104537.
• Jiwani, Z., Tatar, R., Dahl, C., Wilson-Mendenhall, C. D., Hirshberg, M. J., Davidson, R. D., & Goldberg, S. B. (2023). Examining equity in access and utilization of a freely available meditation app. npj Mental Health Research, 2(5).
• Goldberg, S. B., Baldwin, S. A., Riordan, K. M., Torous, J., Dahl, C. J., Davidson, R. J., & Hirshberg, M. J. (2022). Alliance with an unguided smartphone app: Validation of the Digital Working Alliance Inventory. Assessment, 29(6), 1331-1345.
• Hirshberg, M. J., Frye, C., Dahl, C. J., Riordan, K. M., Vack, N. J., Sachs, J., Goldman, R., Davidson, R. J., & Goldberg, S. B. (2022). A randomized controlled trial of a smartphone-based well-being training in public school system employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Educational Psychology, 114(8), 1895–1911.
• Goldberg, S. B., Imhoff-Smith, T., Bolt, D. M., Wilson-Mendenhall, C. D., Dahl, C. J., Davidson, R. J., & Rosenkranz, M. A. (2020). Testing the Efficacy of a Multicomponent, Self-Guided, Smartphone-Based Meditation App: Three-Armed Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Mental Health, 7(11), 23825.

Other Scientific Articles

• Davidson, R. J. & Dahl, C. J. (2017). Outstanding challenges in scientific research on mindfulness and meditation. Perspectives on Psychological Science. 13(1), 62-65.
• Davidson, R. J., & Dahl, C. J. (2017). Varieties of contemplative practice. JAMA Psychiatry. 74(2), 121-23.
• Dahl, C. J., Lutz, A., & Davidson, R. J. (2016). Cognitive processes are central in compassion meditation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 20(3), 161-2.
• Goldberg, S. B., Wielgosz, J., Dahl, C., Schuyler, B., MacCoon, D. S., Rosenkranz, M., Lutz, A., Sebranek, C. A., & Davidson, R. J. (2016). Does the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire measure what we think it does? Construct validity evidence from an active controlled randomized clinical trial. Psychological Assessment, 28(8), 1009-14.

A full list of Cort’s research can be found here.