Dr. Mackenzie’s areas of expertise include contemplative sciences, mindfulness meditation, mind-body medicine, and healthy development. For five years she was a Research Assistant Professor in the division of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine, where she conducted research on mental health and spirituality. Following that, she was a Lecturer in the Critical Writing Program, School of Arts and Sciences, teaching courses in humanistic and integrative medicine with a focus on learning writing skills. Currently, her main areas of academic interest are contemplative education and mindfulness meditation. With colleagues from Penn GSE, Dr. Mackenzie has conducted pilot evaluations of mindfulness-based teacher training as well as a qualitative study of contemplative practices in higher education. Read the full article on the study here. Dr. Mackenzie is a certified to teach mindfulness by the Mindfulness Institute for Emerging Adults (MIEA).