The Compassion Imperative:

Breakfast & Keynote Presentation with

Dr. James R. Doty, MD

Please join us for Compassionate Houston's Annual Fundraiser and keynote presentation with Dr. James R. Doty, MD, an internationally recognized expert on compassion and neuroscience. 

Register Now! 

About James R. Doty, MD

Dr. Doty’s message of the universal importance of compassion is especially valuable in helping us feel grounded during uncertain times, particularly in a city as rich in cultural and religious diversity as Houston. Dr. Doty will broaden our perspective on the necessity of compassion in our individual lives and its importance for our global Houston community.  We invite you to join us for Dr. Doty’s inspirational personal story and hear how extraordinary things happen when we harness the power of both the brain and the heart.

James R. Doty, MD, is an internationally recognized expert on compassion and neuroscience, a Clinical Professor in the Neurosurgery Department at Stanford University School of Medicine and is the Founder and Director of the Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research (CCARE).  Dr. Doty trained in neurosurgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and completed fellowships in pediatric neurosurgery at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia (CHOP).  He spent 9 years on active duty service in the U.S. Army Medical Corp.

For the last several years, Dr. Doty’s interests have focused on understanding the neural basis of compassion and altruism.  He collaborates with a number of scientists in a variety of disciplines including neuroscience and psychology at Stanford and multiple universities throughout the world.  

He is the Senior Editor of the forthcoming “Handbook of Compassion Science” being published by Oxford University Press. Presently, he is developing collaborative research projects to assess the effect of compassion training on immunologic and other physiologic determinates of health, the use of mentoring as a method of instilling compassion in students, and the use of compassion training to decrease pain.

Dr. Doty has endowed chairs at Stanford as well as his alma mater, Tulane University’s School of Medicine. He also has created scholarships for medical students who dedicate their lives to the service of those from disadvantaged backgrounds.  As a philanthropist, Dr. Doty has given support to a number of charitable organizations including those focused on HIV/AIDS, blood banks, medical care in third world countries, and peace initiatives.

Dr. Doty is the New York Times best-selling author of Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart.  He will be sharing with us his memoir of how compassion transformed his life.