Jim is an adjunct professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. He is also the founder and director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University of which His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the founding benefactor. He works with scientists from a number of disciplines examining the neural bases for compassion and altruism. He is the senior editor of the Oxford Handbook of Compassion Science. 

He is an inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He holds multiple patents, has developed or co-developed multiple medical technologies used around the world.  Jim is also the former CEO of Accuray (ARAY:NASDAQ) manufacturer of the CyberKnife technology. He is an operating partner and advisor to multiple venture capital firms.

Jim has given support to a number of charitable organizations supporting peace initiatives and providing healthcare throughout the world. Additionally, he has supported research, provided scholarships, and endowed chairs at multiple universities.

Jim serves on the board of a number of non-profits and is the former vice-chair of the Charter for Compassion International and the former chairman of the Dalai Lama Foundation. He is also an advisor to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Foundation.

He is the New York Times bestselling author of Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discovery the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart. Now translated into over 40 languages which served as the basis for the album Love Yourself: Tear by the international K-pop band BTS.