Mardi Crane-Godreau is a dynamic thought leader who has gathered like-minded scholars into collaborations, research and initiatives in fields ranging from immunology to somatic practices that challenge Cartesian paradigms [CJG1]. She is a former Assistant Professor at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. She led a guest editorial team at Frontiers in Neuroscience for the research topic ‘Somatic and Bodymind Approach to Resilience’ and currently serves as on guest editiorial team for Environmental Health at  Frontiers in Public Health.
Since 2013, she and Peter Payne have pursued clinical research and addressed theoretical issues involved in the scientific investigation of somatic practices. Recent publications include proposed language and conceptual frameworks for elucidating mechanisms of somatic approaches to improving health and general well-being.
Dr. Crane-Godreau and her team are especially interested in finding ways to share video and other digital media to educate and empower individuals and families with access to enjoyable and effective, evidence-based solutions to health challenges. One project, in conjunction with Dartmouth’s  DALI Lab, involved the development of an app to improve somatic awareness and self-regulation in children with autistic spectrum disorder.
Other initiatives include education and pragmatic training for leaders who work with traumatized populations within their communities, including Vermont State government departments. She also works with first responders such as flight attendants.
Dr. Crane-Godreau received her PhD from Dartmouth College, where she was chosen by the school’s faculty to deliver the Class Day address for her graduating class in 2004. She is a former Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

Peter Payne is a researcher, teacher, Qigong /Meditative Movement educator who has devoted his career to healing stress and trauma from the combined perspectives of neuroscience and traditional Asian bodymind disciplines.

Peter is the co-investigator of Flight Attendant Health Studies at Dartmouth, a three-phase controlled clinical trial studying the health effects of Qigong on people with pulmonary dysfunction. He is the lead author of several recent peer-reviewed research and theoretical publications addressing issues involved in the scientific investigation of somatic practices.

Through his collaborations at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Peter continues his enthusiastic focus on research projects aimed at uncovering important links between neuroscience and bodymind practices. His research and teaching make these bodymind disciplines understandable and accessible to Westerners, and establish a framework for investigating them in the context of stress trauma, and wellbeing. He has taught Somatics in numerous contexts, including most recently Vermont State government departments.

Peter is a teacher and practitioner of mindfulness meditation, Qigong, and Tai Chi, and a certified practitioner of Somatic Experiencing trauma therapy and the Alexander Technique of postural re-education. He has taught anatomy and neurophysiology at college level, and has maintained a lifelong interest in neurophysiology and neuropsychology, believing that these fields are the key to translating the traditional Asian bodymind practices into a biomedical framework. He holds a BA in psychology from Harvard University.

“Neuroscience confirms that the body and mind are not separate entities, but are two facets of one unified whole. Working with the bodymind as a coherent, integrated system, we can help people to develop their natural resilience and to heal quickly and easily from stress and trauma.”