UC San Diego Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion

What UC San Diego Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion does

The T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion is an academic research and training institute housed within UC San Diego in La Jolla, California, established through the philanthropy of T. Denny Sanford. Its mission centers on studying the neurobiology of compassion, informing medical education, and addressing the epidemic of physician burnout. The institute operates six specialized centers covering compassionate communication, medical education training, social justice in human health, empathy and technology, mentorship in medicine, and research on empathy and compassion.

Its core offerings are arts- and humanities-based training curricula rather than software products. These include the Compassionate Communication Virtual Workshop Series (free expert-led webinars), the multi-day Lead With Compassion workshop, two self-paced Coursera courses, in-person UCSD Health training modules (Speak Plainly, Sharing Serious News, Engaging with Differences), and a downloadable Compassionate Communication Facilitation Guide. Proprietary frameworks include the Empathy Unfolding model, Narrative Humility training, and storytelling-based protocols such as the Big Idea Form and What's the Story Form. The institute also runs an annual national Forum on Empathy and Compassion and a fellowship program (Sanford Compassionate Communication Fellowship) embedded within UCSD Health.

The institute does not operate a commercial revenue model. All primary training programs and resources are provided free of charge to healthcare professionals and medical educators. Funding flows through institutional budgets, research grants (including NIH and VA Career Development Awards via affiliated faculty), and the catalytic Sanford endowment. Its primary audiences are clinicians, medical educators, and researchers across UC San Diego Health, the VA San Diego Healthcare System, Rady Children's Hospital, and a growing roster of medical schools reached via the Mentor Clinician Program, which is now in its 10th year and expanding nationally.

Name

UC San Diego Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion

Legal name

T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion

Website

https://empathyandcompassion.ucsd.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion is a UC San Diego research and training institute that develops arts- and humanities-based curricula to advance empathy, compassionate communication, and clinician well-being across healthcare and medical education, serving clinicians, educators, and researchers primarily at no cost.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Education and Healthcare Training

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAEANAN

Training Delivery Services (Onsite/Virtual Instruction, Workshops, Coaching)

Business & Public Services/IT & Digital Services (Managed Services, Systems Integration)/IT Training & Technical Enablement Services

Keywords

• Medical education training
• Healthcare communication training
• Empathy research programs
• Clinician wellness programs
• Compassionate care curriculum

Headquarters

HQ city

La Jolla

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. University/Institutional Funding: As an institute within UC San Diego, the Sanford Institute is primarily funded through institutional budgets, research grants, and the endowed funding from T. Denny Sanford's catalytic philanthropy. Training programs are offered free to participants, suggesting grant- or institution-funded delivery.
2. Grant-Funded Research Programs: The institute administers funding opportunities for scholars, fellows, and researchers. It also hosts externally funded research programs (e.g., VA Career Development Awards, NIH-funded studies) through its affiliated faculty.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Sanford Institute develops and delivers empathy and compassionate communication training programs for healthcare professionals and medical educators through free virtual workshops, multi-day workshops, self-paced Coursera courses, in-person clinical and research communication workshops, and a digital Compassionate Communication Facilitation Guide. It also operates fellowship/scholar programs (Wellness Leader Academy, Sanford Research Fellows, Sanford Scholars, Compassion Ambassador Program) and conducts original research on empathy, compassion, and clinician burnout.

Product overview

The T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion at UC San Diego is an academic research and training institute focused on advancing empathy and compassion in healthcare through research, medical education, and clinician well-being initiatives. The Institute operates through a portfolio of training programs and educational resources rather than a unified software product. Its core offerings include the Compassionate Communication Webinar Series (free virtual workshops on compassionate communication for healthcare professionals), Lead With Compassion (a multi-day virtual leadership workshop), Self-Paced Online Courses hosted on Coursera, and UC San Diego Training sessions (clinical and research communication workshops). The Institute also provides the Compassionate Communication Facilitation Guide as a digital resource. The Institute is structured around six specialized centers: Center for Compassionate Communication, Center for Empathy and Compassion Training in Medical Education, Center for Empathy and Social Justice in Human Health, Center for Empathy and Technology, Center for Mentorship in Medicine, and Center for Research on Empathy and Compassion. The Sanford Community includes fellowship programs such as Wellness Leader Academy, Sanford Research Fellows, Sanford Scholars, Compassion Ambassador Program (CAmP), and Changemaker Fellows. Additional offerings include mindfulness meditation sessions, the Mentor Clinician Program, and the annual Sanford Institute Forum on Empathy and Compassion. The Institute does not develop or sell software products but rather provides in-person and virtual training, educational content, and community programs for healthcare professionals and medical educators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Compassionate Communication Virtual Workshop Series
• Lead With Compassion Workshop

Quantifiable outcome

• Research published in Nature Human Behaviour on emotional support from conversational artificial intelligence (Nature Human Behaviour, February 2026)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• UC San Diego Center for MindfulnesscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDuring COVID-19, the UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness and the Sanford Institute teamed up to provide free, daily online streams and recordings of mindfulness and compassion sessions to support community well-being.
• UC San Diego HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUC San Diego Health is the primary clinical partner hosting Sanford Institute training programs, embedding compassionate communication curriculum within its healthcare delivery system.
• Pivotal Empathy, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare startup co-founded by Dr. Maria Keckler that translates patient stories into evidence-based micro-interventions improving clinical empathy and patient outcomes. Dr. Keckler is also Affiliate Faculty at the Sanford Institute.
• San Diego State University (SDSU) EmpathyRx LabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by Dr. Maria Keckler; SDSU EmpathyRx Lab translates interdisciplinary empathy research into evidence-informed tools for nursing education, professional development, and clinical learning environments.
• Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science (Stony Brook University)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVal Lantz-Gefroh served as founding Improvisation Program Director (2009-2018) and Evonne Kaplan-Liss was founding medical director. The Alan Alda Center curriculum has been taught to 15,000+ participants globally; their methodologies directly inform the Sanford Institute's arts-and humanities-based communication training.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC): National palliative care training organization addressing serious-illness communication and clinician skills; broader scope but serves overlapping clinical audiences and training buyers.

Direct peers

• Institute for Healthcare Communication (IHC): Evidence-based communication skills training provider for healthcare professionals; comparable mission and educational-delivery model.
• Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare: National nonprofit dedicated to compassion in healthcare through Schwartz Rounds and related programs; the closest national peer organization operating in the same compassion-training category.
• Academy of Communication in Healthcare (ACH): Professional organization offering healthcare communication skills training, certification, and research to clinicians, educators, and researchers — overlapping membership and pedagogical focus.
• Empathetics: Healthcare empathy training program originating from Massachusetts General Hospital, providing evidence-based curriculum to clinicians and healthcare systems — directly comparable commercial structure and content.
• VitalTalk: Nonprofit that trains clinicians in serious-illness communication skills; shares target audience (physicians, palliative care teams) and modality (evidence-based communication workshops) with the Sanford Institute.
• Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science: Stony Brook University-based center using arts-and-improvisation-based communication training for scientists and clinicians; the Sanford Institute's leadership originated here and the methodologies directly overlap, reaching 15,000+ participants globally.

Emerging players

• Harvard Macy Institute: Provides continuing professional development for medical educators including communication and leadership programs; overlapping buyer (medical educators) with partial scope match.
• National Center for Whole-Person Healthcare Education: Educator-focused organization integrating whole-person care into healthcare training curricula; partially overlapping mission in embedding humanistic skills into medical education.
• Pivotal Empathy, Inc. Healthcare startup co-founded by Sanford Institute Affiliate Faculty (Dr. Maria Keckler) translating empathy research into clinical micro-interventions; spin-out/partner that overlaps in mission and methodology.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ucsdcompassion

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UC San Diego Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion