Dusana is a psychologist, neuroscientist and a writer. She is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Psychology in Education at the University of York where she leads the Well Minds Lab. The overarching theme of her research is the exploration of core processes in the mind and brain underpinning mental health and wellbeing, their development and cultivation. Her research centres around three main topics. The first topic investigates how these processes develop and can be fostered through mental health and wellbeing curricula in schools. The second topic examines how these processes are modified by meditation practices and impact mental health and wellbeing. The third topic explores how global crises such as political polarisation or climate change impact these processes, and in turn how these processes impact our ability to tackle these crises.
Dusana authored over 30 peer-reviewed articles on these research topics. She has also written two peer-reviewed books on neuroscience of meditation – Mind, Brain and the Path to Happiness and Neuroscience and Psychology of Meditation in Everyday Life. Dusana is currently writing her third book in which she outlines an innovative neuroscience-based approach to formulating mental health and wellbeing curricula in primary schools. She co-authored a mindfulness-based wellbeing programme for primary schools and adults called ‘The Present’. She also collaborated on translating a neurodevelopmental theory she recently proposed into a new comprehensive mental health and wellbeing curriculum for primary schools. Dusana was an advisor and contributed to mental health and wellbeing policy initiatives both in the UK and at the UNESCO.
Dusana’s outreach activities include articles in The Conversation and contributions to radio and TV programmes including the BBC. You can follow Dusana’s Psychology Today blog called ‘Your Meditative Mind’ and her Medium blog ‘Dealing with Existential Uncertainty’. She will soon be launching two new podcast series: ‘Mind, Brain, Meditation and The Big Qs’ and ‘Dealing with Existential Uncertainty’. To engage wider audiences, Dusana started writing fiction books and recently published her first novelette called ‘The Two Tenets’ which builds on her research. The book explores how the everyday choices we make and ways we foster our minds impact on large scale existential crises humanity is facing at the moment.
Dusana has been practicing meditation in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of Dzogchen for over 20 years. She cumulatively completed about 6 months of silent retreat. She teaches meditation to small groups of students when her busy schedule allows.