Michele Marie Desmarais

Dr. Michele Marie Desmarais is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), with a secondary appointment in Native American Studies. She holds a PhD in Asian Studies from the University of British Columbia. Her research specialties include medical humanities, Indigenous fine arts, mindfulness, and the intersection of religion with film and neuroscience. She co-founded SPHRS (Spirituality, Public Health, Religious Studies), a community engagement initiative, and served as founding director of UNO's Medical Humanities minor.

Education:

• PhD in Asian Studies, University of British Columbia
• MA in Religious Studies, University of British Columbia
• BA in Psychology, Simon Fraser University

Research Interests: Dr. Desmarais explores Indian thought (particularly Yoga psychology/Patañjali's Yoga-sūtra), religion's role in wellness, and representations of spirituality in film. Her work bridges cognitive neuroscience with religious philosophy, as seen in her book Changing Minds, recognized by the International Society for Science and Religion. She also studies Indigenous artistic expressions and their spiritual dimensions, contributing to exhibits at the University of Nebraska State Museum and the Heard Museum.

Professional Contributions:

• Former editor of Journal of Religion and Film
• Co-founder and Director of SPHRS (located at the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center)
• Executive committee member of the Leonard and Shirley Goldstein Center for Human Rights

Awards:

• National Council on Undergraduate Research Excellence in Mentoring (2017)
• Canada Council for the Arts Aboriginal Writer’s Grant (2012)
• Teaching Excellence Award (UNO, 2008)

Her poetry has been published in journals like American Indian Culture and Research Journal and Yellow Medicine Review, with multimedia works featured in museum exhibits. She teaches courses on Eastern religions, Sanskrit, and Indigenous spiritualities, emphasizing compassion and intercultural understanding.