Interdisciplinary Research Advances Compassionate Care at UVA Symposium
The University of Virginia hosted its first pan-University Compassionate Care Research Symposium (“Contemplating Compassion Across Contexts”) on April 17, bringing together over 50 interdisciplinary scholars, clinicians, and students to explore how compassion is conceptualized across diverse research domains. The event builds upon the momentum of prior Compassionate Care Research events, including a School of Nursing symposium held in March 2025 and a Compassionate Care Research Social Event in December 2025.
The half-day symposium was co-sponsored by the UVA School of Nursing Compassionate Care Research Program, the School of Education and Human Development, and the Contemplative Sciences Center, which also served as the host site. The program included networking opportunities, a keynote address, podium presentations, and poster sessions featuring research from students and faculty from UVA Schools of Nursing, Medicine, Engineering, Education and the College of Arts & Sciences, as well as partner organizations.
The symposium opened with welcome remarks from Virginia LeBaron, associate professor and Kluge-Schakat chair of compassionate care, of the UVA School of Nursing and Michael Sheehy, director of research, of the Contemplative Sciences Center. The keynote address was delivered by Kelly Crace, executive director of the UVA Contemplative Sciences Center, who spoke on “Compassion and its Role in Flourishing Across Change and Contexts.” Crace examined how compassion supports resilience and adaptability across individual, organizational, and societal settings and the inextricable connection between fear and caring.
Faculty from the UVA School of Nursing contributed prominently to the symposium’s podium presentations, sharing research spanning education, health equity, clinical care, and student support. Presentations included work by Lili Powell on the effects of CCI retreats for nursing students; Richard Ridge on the impact of patient-as-teacher pedagogy on student nurse empathy; and Crystal Toll, Malinda Whitlow, and Gretchen Wiersma on a curricular embedded peer mentorship program supporting RN-to-BSN students.
Recipients of UVA SON Compassionate Care Research Pilot Funds were also well represented, and included Lauren Catlett on co-designing a web-based healthcare resource for transgender and gender-diverse older adults; Hye Song Joung on racial and ethnic differences in prostate cancer screening outcomes; Jane Kim on social connections and care-seeking among rural patients with heart failure; and Sookyung Park, who investigated demographics and outcomes within the travel nursing workforce.
UVA School of Nursing undergraduate and PhD students also shared research through poster presentations addressing compassionate care across clinical, community, and educational contexts. Student presenters included Annaliese Meistrich, who examined behavioral health crisis response in the Charlottesville-Albemarle area; Rose La Serte, who explored strategies to encourage compassionate self-care among family caregivers; Allison Schilling, whose work focused on conceptualizing non-binary gender in a binary world; Adam Mohammed, who presented findings from a faith-based brain wellness program; and Carolyn Spilman, who shared family caregivers’ perspectives on home care for children with medical complexity.
The symposium concluded with research reflections by Patricia Jennings, professor in the School of Education & Human Development, closing remarks, and an optional tour of the Contemplative Sciences Center. Organizers offered special thanks to Mack McCormack, Amber Steen, and collaborators across the School of Nursing, Contemplative Sciences Center, and School of Education and Human Development for their support of the event.