An associate professor of educational psychology, Kristin Neff is a leading proponent of the concept of self-compassion. She is regarded as one of the first academics in the world to research the long-term benefits associated with the practice. After gaining her doctorate from the University of California, where she studied moral development, Neff went on to conduct her post-doctoral thesis at the University of Denver where she focussed on self-concept development. While studying, Neff began to take more of an interest in Buddhism, which has shaped many of her insights into psychology. Neff has used meditation techniques throughout her life. Specifically, she espouses the Insight Meditation tradition as one that has worked for her.