BIOS237:
Engineering Wellness
Instructors for this course:
Michael Snyder, PhD
Stanford W. Ascherman, MD, FACS, Professor in Genetics
Ariel Ganz, PhD
Postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University
Ziv Lautman
Bioengineering PhD Candidate, Snyder Lab
In this immersive three-week program, students will delve into the dynamic interplay between lifestyle, wellness decisions, and their effects on our physiology.
Utilizing a data-driven approach, enriched by wearable technology (e.g., Fitbit, Apple Watch, Oura ring), participants will gain a deep understanding of how wellness practices shape our physiological responses.
Participants will receive a wearable device for the duration of the course and will engage in a hands-on exploration of various wellness interventions, including exercise routines, awareness meditation, laughter yoga, inquiry-based stress reduction, priming, gratitude, and relationship building practices.
They will evaluate the impact of these interventions using real-time data collected from their wearables.
This course features both academic authorities and celebrated wellness pioneers.
Previous speakers include Byron Katie, Madan Kataria, MD, founder of Laughter Yoga, leading stress researcher George Slavich, PhD, James Doty, MD, Lindsay Briner, and Deepak Chopra, MD, providing insights into groundbreaking research and innovative practices in mental health.
As a culmination of their learning journey, students will undertake a capstone project involving the analysis of their personal data from the wearable device. This will enable students to quantify the physiological impacts of various wellness choices, solidifying their comprehension of the material and facilitating practical application.