Center for Healthy Minds

What Center for Healthy Minds does

Center for Healthy Minds is a nonprofit research center within the University of Wisconsin–Madison's College of Letters & Science, founded around 2009 by Dr. Richie Davidson to study the neural bases of emotion, wellbeing, and contemplative practice. The Center operates as a multidisciplinary research collective with 101–250 employees headquartered at 625 W. Washington Ave., Madison, WI. It runs an expanding portfolio of programs — MUSE Initiative (music and arts for wellbeing), Loka Initiative (faith-based environmental action), Cultivating Justice CoLaboratory (mindfulness-based reentry research), the Usap Tayo Study (Filipino American wellbeing), and the Sacred Wisdom Sacred Earth documentary — alongside more than 1,000 published scientific papers. Methodologies include MRI, EEG, positron emission tomography, modern genetic and epigenetic approaches, and a proprietary 'screenomics' pipeline that uses vision-language and large language models to analyze millions of smartphone screenshots for digital-phenotyping research such as suicide-risk detection.

The Center does not sell commercial products; it is funded through competitive federal grants (primarily NIH and NIMH), foundation grants (Templeton World Charity Foundation, Dana Foundation), and individual donations, with no publicly disclosed pricing or revenue figures. Its go-to-market is community-led: it recruits research participants through community-engaged partnerships, distributes findings via peer-reviewed publication, a bi-monthly newsletter, multi-platform social media, podcasts (including the Huberman Lab with 10M+ listeners), and an annual public festival ('The World We Make'). Served 'segments' are diverse and vertical — Indigenous communities (Menominee, Ho-Chunk Nation), justice-impacted populations, faith-based communities, Filipino American communities, and the general public participating in studies. The Center's research is translated into products and services through Humin (formerly Healthy Minds Innovations), an external, affiliated global nonprofit that commercializes the science-based Healthy Minds Framework.

Name

Center for Healthy Minds

Legal name

Center for Healthy Minds

Website

https://centerhealthyminds.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Center for Healthy Minds is a University of Wisconsin–Madison research center studying emotion, the brain, and wellbeing through neuroscience, AI-augmented screenomics, and community-engaged programs, funded by federal and foundation grants and affiliated with nonprofit Humin for commercialization.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Neuroscience & Wellbeing Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Wellness & Resilience Education (Non-clinical) (EDAAAHAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Meditation Apps, Digital Courses & Online Communities (HSADAJAH), Mind-Body Wellness Coaching (Holistic/Integrative) (HSADAGAG), Mindfulness, Stress Management & Resilience Training (EDAMAIAD)

Keywords

• Contemplative neuroscience research
• Wellbeing science studies
• Affective neuroscience research
• Mindfulness intervention programs
• Community mental health research

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Federal Research Grants: The Center receives significant funding from competitive federal grants, primarily from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), supporting specific research projects such as the mindfulness-based curriculum for reentry study ($700K grant from NIMH).
2. Foundation Grants: Funding from private foundations including Templeton World Charity Foundation (supporting the PREP course and Loka Initiative) and Dana Foundation (funding train-the-trainer projects for formerly incarcerated partners).
3. Individual Donations: The Center relies on generous donations from individuals, with flexible gifts serving as crucial complements to grant-supported work to support operational needs and innovative projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Center for Healthy Minds is an academic research center that conducts scientific studies on emotion, the brain, and human flourishing using neuroscience, psychology, and community-engaged methodologies. It runs research programs and community initiatives in areas such as mindfulness, criminal justice reentry, Indigenous wellbeing, Filipino American mental health, and music/arts for wellbeing, producing peer-reviewed scientific papers and educational content rather than commercial products.

Product overview

The Center for Healthy Minds is a research center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, not a commercial product company. Its offerings consist of research programs and community initiatives rather than traditional software products. The portfolio includes the MUSE Initiative (music and arts for wellbeing), Loka Initiative (faith-based environmental action), Sacred Wisdom Sacred Earth documentary, Cultivating Justice CoLaboratory (criminal justice reform research), Usap Tayo Study (Filipino American wellbeing research), and its affiliated nonprofit Humin which translates research into practical wellbeing tools. These programs are research and community-focused rather than commercial product offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Loka Initiative: A capacity-building and outreach platform for faith leaders and culture keepers of Indigenous traditions, centered on inner, community and planetary wellbeing.
• MUSE Initiative
• Cultivating Justice CoLaboratory

Products and services

• MUSE Initiative Multidisciplinary Understanding of Self-Evolution (MUSE) is a research and community initiative exploring how music and the arts shape human flourishing, investigating how aesthetic experiences support emotional regulation, well-being, prosocial behavior, and collective resilience.
• Loka Initiative A capacity-building and outreach platform for faith leaders and Indigenous communities focused on environmental and climate action, centered on the interdependency of inner, community, and planetary wellbeing; offers the free PREP online course.
• Cultivating Justice CoLaboratory A collaborative research group involving community and academic researchers working to disrupt cycles of harm and trauma for those involved in the criminal legal system through mindfulness-based interventions for reentry.
• Sacred Wisdom Sacred Earth A feature-length documentary exploring how humans might live in harmony with Mother Earth through Indigenous ecological knowledge, rooted in tribal communities of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes region.
• Usap Tayo Study A community-engaged research study investigating interpersonal, cultural, and political determinants of wellbeing for Filipino American communities using Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Indigenous Filipino Psychology) methodology, in partnership with FilExcellence.

Quantifiable outcome

• First-of-its-kind study using screenomics to examine nighttime smartphone use predicting suicide risk, published in JAMA Network Open
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• UW-Madison Division of the ArtssupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership with the MUSE Initiative hosting inaugural event 'The Memory of Care: Art, Music, and the Neuroscience of Human Connection' featuring interdisciplinary artist Viviane Silvera and Driftless Reeds musical quintet.
• Wisconsin Institute for DiscoverysupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025UW-Madison institute partnering with MUSE Initiative to explore the intersection of arts, neuroscience, and collective wellbeing.
• FilExcellencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal non-profit organization fostering connections and promoting advocacy for the global Filipino community. CHM researchers partnered with FilExcellence for the Usap Tayo study investigating interpersonal, cultural, and political determinants of wellbeing for Filipino American communities, using the kuwentuhan storytelling methodology rooted in Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Indigenous Filipino Psychology).
• Great Lakes Inter-Tribal CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership formed through years of deep listening and engagement with Indigenous elders and knowledge holders. Collaborated on the Sacred Wisdom Sacred Earth documentary exploring Indigenous ecological knowledge in tribal communities of Wisconsin and the Great Lakes region.
• The Voices of PowercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWisconsin non-profit organization co-founded by community partner Aaron Hicks that works to restore the voice of the voiceless. Core team members in the Cultivating Justice CoLaboratory, co-facilitating community advisory board meetings and mindfulness groups with formerly incarcerated individuals.
• Just MindfulnesscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit organization led by Dr. Carmen Alonso offering mindfulness practices to currently and formerly incarcerated individuals. Partners in the Cultivating Justice CoLaboratory, co-facilitating 8-week mindfulness groups for study participants.
• Nehemiah CentersupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity-based organization led by Dr. Karen Reece, involved in the Cultivating Justice CoLaboratory research team working on mindfulness-based curriculum for formerly incarcerated populations.
• Wisconsin Indian Education Association (WIEA)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStatewide Indigenous education organization that partnered with Loka Initiative to screen the Sacred Wisdom Sacred Earth film to Indigenous youth audiences at Ho-Chunk Nation Wellness Center.
• Humin (Healthy Minds Innovations)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExternal, affiliated, and global nonprofit on a mission to make wellbeing real by translating Center science into action. Inspires products and services including the Healthy Minds Framework with four pillars: Awareness, Connection, Insight, and Purpose.
• Columbia University Center for JusticesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerVisiting scholars Jarrell Daniels and Dr. Brooke Burrows collaborated previously at Columbia's Center for Justice on the Justice Ambassadors Youth Council program, and visited CHM to share community-engaged research approaches.
• UW-Madison Department of Social WorksupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociate Professor Pajarita Charles from UW's Social Work department is a team member on the Cultivating Justice CoLaboratory mindfulness and reentry research project.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Greater Good Science Center (UC Berkeley): UC Berkeley center studying the science of well-being, happiness, and flourishing through university-based interdisciplinary research, a near-mirror of CHM's research-to-public-impact model.
• Mind & Life Institute: Nonprofit convening scientists, contemplatives, and humanists around the science of the mind; most directly comparable to CHM's contemplative-science research-and-dialogue model.
• Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences: European research institute with overlapping neuroscience/wellbeing research portfolio (MRI, EEG, cognitive science) and similar large-publication, multi-funder operating model.
• UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness: UC San Diego research center focusing on mindfulness-based intervention research and training; directly comparable university-based peer in the same evidence-based mindfulness niche.
• Oxford Mindfulness Centre: University-of-Oxford research center running rigorous studies on mindfulness-based interventions, including MBSR/MBCT, sharing CHM's evidence-based contemplative focus.
• Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE): Stanford-affiliated research center translating contemplative and compassion science into practice, directly comparable in mission, methodology, and academic structure to CHM.

Broad incumbents

• Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Mindfulness: Hospital-based clinical mindfulness program at MGH; broader incumbent that overlaps with CHM on mindfulness research and clinical translation but operates from a clinical/hospital anchor.
• Karolinska Institutet (Department of Clinical Neuroscience): Large Swedish medical university's neuroscience research arm; broader incumbent with comparable MRI/EEG methodologies and multi-funder grant-funded research operation.

Emerging players

• Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute: Mindfulness and emotional intelligence training organization that translates contemplative science into corporate/leadership programs, intersecting with CHM's applied mission.

Others

• Humin (formerly Healthy Minds Innovations): External affiliated nonprofit commercializing CHM's science into products and services (Healthy Minds Framework); adjacent entity that monetizes CHM research outputs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/healthyminds
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/UWHealthyMinds
• Facebookfacebook.com/centerforhealthyminds
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/center-for-healthy-minds/?trk=biz-companies-cym
• Instagraminstagram.com/healthy.minds

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Center for Healthy Minds