Tawni Tidwell

Tawni Tidwell, TMD, PhD, is a biocultural anthropologist and Tibetan medical doctor, the first non-Asian to complete formal Tibetan medical training alongside Tibetan peers. She integrates Tibetan medicine, neuroscience, and Buddhist epistemology in her research, focusing on diagnostic practices for cancer and metabolic disorders. As a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she bridges Tibetan and Euroamerican medical traditions, leading studies on meditative states, Tibetan medicine for COVID-19, and meditation’s link to the gut microbiome. She also maintains a clinical practice in Wisconsin and Austria, treating chronic conditions with Tibetan medicine. Tawni credits her success to her Tibetan medical teachers and dharma teacher, Kyabgön Phakchok Rinpoche