28/09/26 - Empathy and Compassion in One Health Conference

Empathy and compassion in One Health: Perspectives across disciplines, species and ecosystems 
Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh 
Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 September 2026, Dovecot Studios, 10 Infirmary Street, Edinburgh 
EH1 1LT

Please join us at this inaugural event of the Edinburgh Empathy Place, an initiative of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh. The conference will host international leaders and experts from the Global Empathy in Healthcare Network and is being held in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh’s Global Compassion and Empathy Initiative. We are delighted this conference is part of the Edinburgh Medical School’s 300th year anniversary celebrations.

The conference has been made possible with kind support from the Stoneygate Centre for Empathic Healthcare, University of Leicester, and the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion, University of California San Diego.

Empathy and compassion are fundamental to One Health—an approach that recognises the interconnectedness of human, animal, and ecosystem health—because they drive the collaborative, trust-based relationships necessary for effective healthcare and systemic change.

This multidisciplinary conference brings together leading researchers, educators, and innovators in human and animal healthcare and allied disciplines to share research and establish new collaborations.

The conference is aimed at academics, practitioners and educators who are interested in empathy and compassion in human, animal, and planetary health.

Submissions are welcome from those at all career stages and should relate to empathy or compassion in human, animal or planetary health, or related topics such as communication skills, patient/client-centred care, ethics or student education. We encourage submissions from a broad range of disciplines across the sciences, social sciences and humanities.

Plenary Speakers

Tracy Levett-Jones, Distinguished Professor and Professor of Nursing Education, School of Nursing & Midwifery, University of Technology Sydney

Michael West CBE, Professor of Organisational Psychology, Lancaster University Management School

Stewart Mercer, Professor of Primary Care and Multimorbidity, University of Edinburgh

Abstracts

Those wishing to present should submit abstracts by 15 June 2026, indicating whether you would prefer a 10-minute oral presentation (+ 5 minutes questions), a 2-minute elevator pitch (+ 1 minute questions), or a poster. Abstracts should be 300 words maximum, written in Microsoft Word, and follow the format: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results/Impact.

Submit with the subject line ABSTRACT to:

ECOHconf@ed.ac.uk