Distinguished Fellow

Dr. Brandon Vaidyanathan is Associate Professor and Chair in the Department of Sociology at The Catholic University of America. He was born in Qatar and spent his childhood in Oman, India, and the UAE. He holds degrees in Business Administration from St. Francis Xavier University and HEC Montreal, and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Notre Dame.

His research examines organizational cultures in commercial, religious, medical, and scientific institutions, and has been widely published in leading peer-review journals. He is author of Mercenaries and Missionaries: Capitalism and Catholicism in the Global South (Cornell University Press, 2019), and co-author of Secularity and Science: What Scientists around the World Really Think About Religion (Oxford University Press, 2019). His ongoing research examines well-being in scientific careers and mental health in religious communities. Dr. Vaidyanathan also holds a specialization in Design Thinking and Innovation from the Darden Business School and training in Nonprofit Performance Measurement from the Harvard Business School and Kennedy School, and has served as consultant and facilitator for a number of businesses, non-profits, and philanthropic organizations.