James Doty (physician)

James R. Doty, M.D., FACS, FICS, FAANS (born 1 December 1955) is a renowned American neurosurgeon, neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.

He retired as a distinguished professor of neurosurgery in 2020 having been affiliated with Stanford University since 1997. He remains the founder and director of the Stanford University Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) of which His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the founding benefactor. He is the former chairman of the Dalai Lama Foundation and the former vice-chair of the Charter for Compassion. Dr. Doty is the author of the New York Times and international bestseller Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart, which has been translated into over 30 languages. His work has inspired countless individuals to explore the transformative power of compassion and mindfulness. The renowned K-pop band BTS used Into the Magic Shop as the basis for their third album, Love Yourself: Tear of which there is a song titled Magic Shop. Recently, Dr. Doty released a new book, Mind Magic: The Neuroscience of Manifestation and How It Changes Everything, which delves into the scientific principles behind manifestation and its potential to improve people’s lives.

Background
He received his undergraduate education in biological sciences at the University of California, Irvine, departing prior to receiving his degree in 1977 to attend Tulane University School of Medicine after having received a U.S. Army Health Professions Scholarship, where he graduated in 1981. He later was awarded his undergraduate degree from UC Irvine in 1978.

He completed his internship at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1982, and his neurosurgery residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., in 1987. He also trained in pediatric neurosurgery at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and completed a research fellowship in neurophysiology focused on motor evoked potentials. Dr. Doty received board certification from the American Board of Neurological Surgery in 1990. He served nine years of active duty in the U.S. Army Medical Department, attaining the rank of Major.

Research Career
Dr. Doty's research has focused on the development of technologies utilizing focused beams of radiation combined with robotics and image-guidance techniques to treat solid tumors and other pathologies in the brain and spinal cord. He is recognized as an expert in stereotactic radiosurgery and, as well as complex and minimally invasive spine surgery. He holds multiple patents, including those for a spine stabilization device and an electrode for monitoring brain and spinal cord activity. He has published extensively in the neurosurgical literature and is the co-editor of the textbook, Surgical Disorders of the Sacrum.

Innovation and Invention
In the late 1980s, Dr. Doty invested in Accuray, manufacturer of a unique stereotactic radiosurgery device, the CyberKnife which his colleague, Dr. John Adler, invented. After providing critical additional funding to the company, he became CEO, leading the company to obtain FDA approval of the CyberKnife and a successful public offering in 2007(NASDAQ:ARAY) with a valuation of $1.3B.

Dr. Doty achieved significant financial success as an angel investor in numerous start-up companies during the dot com period. Following the dot-com crash, he became effectively bankrupt but remained committed to his philanthropic endeavors, ultimately donating $29 million in Accuray stock to charity. Doty remains a consultant and advisor to medical technology and device companies and a variety of venture capital firms. He is an advisor to the Fogarty Institute of Innovation and an operating partner at Capricorn Health and Special Opportunities Fund (a Jeff Skoll Investment Fund). After a sabbatical, Dr. Doty returned to Stanford University in 2008 to rejoin the neurosurgical department and to also explore his increasing interest in the neuroscience of compassion and altruism with colleagues from psychology and neuroscience. This led to the formal establishment of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) within the Stanford School of Medicine. As Director of CCARE, he has collaborated on numerous research projects focusing on compassion and altruism, including neuro-economic models to assess altruism, compassion cultivation training (CCT), compassionate and altruistic judgment using implanted brain electrodes, and optogenetic techniques to study nurturing pathways in rodents. He has also published on the influence of mindful meditation on surgical performance. He is the senior editor of The Oxford Handbook of Compassion Science.

In 2021, with the increasing influence of AI and seeing the progressive development of computer-generated avatars, he envisioned a mental health app that incorporated these concepts as a mental health companion for the ever-increasing number of individuals suffering stress, anxiety, loneliness and depression from living in the modern world. He subsequently founded Happi AI (happi.ai) that incorporates continuous emotion assessment, with a conversational AI knowledge base consisting of compassion-focused therapy with psychology combined with a human-like avatar. The app is designed to offer a non-judgmental, empathetic and effective approach to mental wellness, embodying Dr. Doty's lifelong commitment to improving human well-being through compassion and science.

Philanthropy
Dr. Doty is a well-recognized philanthropist who has established health clinics globally through his support of Global Healing and created programs for adolescents impacted by AIDS-HIVthrough Family and Children Services. His generous donation to Stanford University School of Medicine is among the largest by any graduate or faculty member. He endowed chairs at both Stanford and Tulane Universities include the Chair of the Dean of the School of Medicine at Tulane University, his alma mater, following Hurricane Katrina. He also refurbished its library and created scholarships for socioeconomically disadvantaged students committed to a career of service. He remains on the Tulane University School of Medicine Board of Governors.

Selected Publications
• Seppala, E. M.; Hutcherson, C. A.; Nguyen, D. T. H.; Doty, J. R.; Gross, J. J. (2014). "Loving-kindness Meditation: A tool to improve healthcare provider compassion, resilience, and patient care". Journal of Compassionate Healthcare. 1: 1–9. doi:10.1186/s40639-014-0005-9. Retrieved 1 May 2015.

• Martin, D.; Seppala, E.; Heineberg, Y.; Rossomando, T.; Doty, J.; Zimbardo, P.; Shiuel, T.- T.; Berger, R.; Zhou, Y. Y. (2014). "The impact of social dominance orientation and economic systems justification". Journal of Business Ethics. 129: 237–249. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.694.9115. doi:10.1007/s10551-014-2157-0. S2CID 11549807.

• Ruchelli, G.; Chapin, H.; Darnall, B.; Seppala, E.; Doty, J.; Mackey, S. (2014). "Compassion meditation training for people living with chronic pain and their significant others: a pilot study and mixed-methods analysis". The Journal of Pain. 15 (4): S117. doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2014.01.479. Retrieved 1 May 2015.

• Seppala, E.; Rossomando, T.; Doty, J. (2013). "Social connection and compassion: Important predictors of health and well-being". Social Research. 80 (2): 411–430. doi:[https://doi.org/10.1353%2Fsor.2013.002710.1353/sor.2013.0027. 10.1353/sor.2013.0027.] S2CID 141321625. Retrieved 10 October 2013.

• Jazaieri, H.; McGonigal, K.; Jinpa, G. T.; Doty, J. R.; Gross, J. J.; Goldin, P. R. (2013). "A randomized controlled trial of compassion cultivation training: Effects on mindfulness, affect, and emotion regulation". Motivation and Emotion. 38: 23–35. doi:10.1007/s11031-013-9368-z. S2CID 35717645.

• Jazaieri, H.; Jinpa, G. T.; McGonigal, K.; Rosenberg, E. L.; Finkelstein, J.; Simon-Thomas, E.; Cullen, M.; Doty, J.; Gross, J. J.; Goldin, P. R. (2012). "Enhancing compassion: A randomized controlled trial of a Compassion Cultivation Training program". Journal of Happiness Studies. 1 (4): 1–14. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.362.5161. doi:10.1007/s10902-012-9373-z. S2CID 17669639.

• Chang, S. D.; Murphy, M.; Geis, P.; Martin, D. P.; Hancock, S. L.; Doty, J. R.; Adler, J. R. (1998). "Clinical experience with image-guided robotic radiosurgery (the Cyberknife) in the treatment of brain and spinal cord tumors". Neurologia Medico-Chirurgica. 38 (11): 780–783. doi:10.2176/nmc.38.780. PMID 9919913. Retrieved 3 July 2013.

• Adler, J. R.; Chang, S. D.; Murphy M. J.; Doty, J.; Geis, P.; Hancock, S. L. (1997). "The Cyberknife: A frameless robotic system for radiosurgery". Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery. 69 (1–4 Pt2): 124–128. doi:10.1159/000099863. PMID 9711744.

• Doty, J. R.; Thomson, J.; Simonds, G.; Rengachary, S. S.; Gunby, E. N. (1989). "Occult intrasacral meningocele: Clinical and radiographic diagnosis". Neurosurgery. 24 (4): 616–25. doi:10.1097/00006123-198904000-00023. PMID 2710309.

• Doty, J. R.; Alving, B. M.; McDonnell, D. E.; Ondra, S. L. (1986). "Heparin-associated Thrombocytopenia in the neurosurgical patient". Neurosurgery. 19 (1): 69–72. doi:10.1227/00006123-198607000-00010. PMID 3748340.