CSC researchers share new insights on the global stage
In July 2026, four researchers from the Contemplative Studies Centre showcased their work at national and international conferences, sharing new insights with academic audiences in Australia and around the world.
Associate Professor Julieta Galante
Associate Professor Julieta Galante attended the 29th Annual Meeting of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness (ASSC) in Santiago, Chile, one of the leading international conferences in consciousness research. The conference brought together researchers from neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, contemplative studies and related disciplines to explore consciousness and altered states of consciousness.
Dr Galante presented research led primarily by Centre PhD candidate Tim Wood, whom she co-supervises with Associate Professor Nicholas Van Dam, on intense meditation-related experiences and their impact, interpretation and integration over time. Drawing on recently published findings and preliminary new results, the presentation examined the prevalence, predictors and meaning-making processes associated with profound meditation-related changes in conscious experience.
The conference enabled connections with researchers from around the world, particularly a growing network of Latin American scholars interested in how meditation can facilitate altered states and what such experiences can reveal about the nature of consciousness. These discussions highlighted increasing international interest in themes central to the Contemplative Studies Centre's research agenda, including contemplative practice, transformative experiences and the scientific study of consciousness.
Dr Karin Matko
Dr Karin Matko attended the International Congress of the IACCP-International Association for Cross Cultural Psychology in Leuven, Belgium. She presented the first findings from her World Meditation Survey research project: a global exploration of over 2,000 meditators from a wide range of Buddhist, Hindu, Abrahamic and secular traditions.
Preliminary results suggest meditators from the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia are engaging in different practices for very different reasons - from improving health to having a divine experience. Interestingly, "being in the here and now" was the most common reason for meditating across all countries and traditions.
The conference provided a valuable opportunity to explore current topics and methods of cross-cultural psychology and connect with a diverse community of researchers studying the richness of human culture and experience worldwide. Karin made new professional connections with collaborators for the world meditation study who will translate the survey and assist with recruitment of meditators in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.
Dr Cate Bailey
Dr Cate Bailey had the opportunity to present research at the 1st EuroQol Australasia Regional Meeting in Sydney. The meeting brought together researchers from across Australia and New Zealand, along with colleagues from Canada, all interested in improving the ways we understand and measure quality of life. The EuroQol Research Foundation funds projects that aim to improve decisions about health and health care throughout the world by developing, promoting and supporting the use of instruments with the widest possible applicability for the measurement and valuation of health.
Dr Bailey presented findings from a Contemplative Studies Centre project investigating how people engage with meditation apps. This study provided a great opportunity to test two slightly different versions of the EQ-HWB-9, a questionnaire designed to capture different aspects of people’s health and wellbeing.
Participants were randomly allocated to complete one of the two versions, allowing the researchers to see whether the changes made to the questionnaire influenced the responses people gave. The results were particularly exciting because they provided quantitative evidence to support findings from earlier qualitative interviews.
Research like this helps develop better ways of measuring what really matters to people’s health and wellbeing, and ultimately helps researchers understand whether health and social care interventions are making a difference to people’s lives.
Dr Lillian Ward
Dr Lillian Ofori Ward presented at the International Society for Research on Emotion in Brisbane. The biennial conference brought together researchers and practitioners from many fields interested in furthering understanding of emotion experiences.
Dr Ward presented the protocol of the Tracking Meditation Study, a longitudinal cohort study that aims to recruit 700 early-stage meditators for the first large scale study on how the effects meditation unfold over time. Tracking meditation study participants will regularly report on their meditation and health and wellbeing, as well as recording voice diaries describing their practice.
Many researchers were interested in the study, particularly the how features of the voice may provide a window into unconscious emotional experience. Lillian hopes these connections may be become future opportunities for collaboration.
The Tracking Meditation study is currently recruiting. Click the link below to get involved.