Dr Chase Sherwell

Topic: The Science of Compassion: From synapse to society.

Presentation

Compassion is an inherent human capability, evolved from mammalian caregiving instincts, that plays a crucial role in social cohesion and psychological wellbeing. Compassion can be considered as the sensitivity to suffering in others or the self, with a commitment to alleviate or prevent that suffering. Distinct from other social processes like empathy, compassion relies on social, cognitive, emotional, and motivational mechanisms to ultimately drive prosocial behaviour. Critically, while everyone has the innate capacity for compassion, it is not fixed or immalleable – compassion is a skill requiring cultivation and reinforcement. While several spiritual and religious traditions have long contemplated the roles and functions of compassion, it is only in the past several decades that compassion has become a topic of scientific enquiry. The blending of cultural wisdom and empirical evidence has produced substantial insights into the role compassion plays in our developmental, social and emotional wellbeing, as well as what it means to be human. In this webinar I will provide a broad introduction to compassion science, ranging from how the human brain represents, processes, and responds to compassion, all the way to how compassion can shape and influence us at the societal level. Through unpacking the scientific evidence and arguments in this field, you will gain an understanding of the varying philosophical, theoretical, and empirical perspectives on compassion. We will cover when, why, and for whom people act compassionately, how compassion can be leveraged in transdiagnostic clinical treatment and the promotion of wellbeing in occupational and professional settings, and the role compassion plays more generally in our everyday social, emotional, and interpersonal functioning, all through a multidisciplinary perspective. 

A Webinar not to be missed!

Saturday 14 November 2026 from 10 am - 11.30am AEST 



Dr Chase Sherwell is a Research Fellow at the University of Queensland. His research combines approaches from neuroscience, psychology, and the learning sciences to investigate learning, performance, and behaviour in real-world contexts. He is a member of the Compassionate Mind Research Group – Australia’s leading team in compassion science, where he undertakes research in the barriers and facilitators of compassionate behaviour in occupational, educational, and healthcare settings, as well as in everyday interactions. He is also a founding member of the UQ Learning Lab – a team of interdisciplinary researchers working in partnership with school and training organisations to mobilise knowledge from research into educational practice across the lifespan. Chase was conferred his PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from the Queensland Brain Institute in 2017, and has since engaged in research partnerships with Mater Education, Metro North Health (Brisbane), Anglicare South Queensland, the Swiss Federal University for Vocational and Educational Training, the University of Helsinki, and dozens of school organisations across Australia. Chase is also a passionate educator, teaching courses in neuroscience, education, and psychology at the University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, and Adelaide University. 

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