Elissa Epel

Elissa Epel, Ph.D, is an international expert on stress, well being, and optimal aging, mind-body researcher, and a best-selling author.  She is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, at University of California, San Francisco, where she is Vice Chair of Psychology and directs the Aging Metabolism Emotions Center (amecenter.ucsf.edu).  She studies the environmental, psychological, behavioral and social factors that impact cellular aging, and is also focusing on climate wellness. She studies how self care practices such as meditation and positive stress can promote psychological and physiological thriving, and is interested in large scale interventions for communal well being and health equity. She co-wrote the New York Times best seller “The Telomere Effect: A revolutionary approach to living younger, longer” with Nobel Laureate Elizabeth Blackburn (translated into 30 languages) and the newly released “Stress Prescription.” She has led science-based meditation retreats at venues such as Esalen, Blue Spirit Costa Rica, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and WEF/Davos. 

Epel is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, past President of the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research, and co-chair of the Mind & Life Institute Steering Council.  She has served as consultant to NIH, CDC, Facebook, Apple, United Health, and to UC campus wide initiatives on stress and health.  Epel’s research has been featured in venues such as TEDMED, NBC’s Today Show, CBS’s Morning Show, 60 minutes, National Public Radio, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and science documentaries.