Training Researchers in Clinical Integrative Medicine (TRIM) - NOSI supplement

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Integrative medicine, including meditation, yoga, tai chi, massage, and other modalities are widely used by Americans in the hope of obtaining health benefits. Evidence for the health effects of these practices, however, has important limitations. The goal of the “Training for Research in Integrative Medicine” (TRIM) fellowship is to train outstanding pre- and postdoctoral behavioral and social scientists, physicians, and other qualified health professionals to design and conduct rigorous clinical and translational research in preparation for research careers in integrative medicine. The program has four postdoctoral positions and two predoctoral positions. The UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine provides an exceptional context in which to offer the program, and TRIM is designed to leverage the extensive training opportunities available as a result of being embedded in the rich UCSF research environment. The current supplement is aimed at further advancing the goals of the TRIM program by adding an integrative health practitioner, Leena Padya, ND, who has outstanding potential to gain advanced research skills in the TRIM program and thereby impact the field of integrative health research. We have developed a research and training plan for Dr. Padya that includes getting a Master’s degree in advanced clinical research, and working closely TRIM faculty on an NCCIH funded R34 study of whole body hyperthermia for depression. Since its inception 14 years ago, TRIM has maintained a record of attracting extremely well qualified candidates who collectively have had a substantial impact on the field of integrative medicine research. Ten of 22 post-doctoral fellows who have completed training have gone on to receive K career development awards. The TRIM program provides an interdisciplinary clinical and research environment; strong mentoring by an experienced research faculty; advanced training in clinical, biological, and psychological research methodologies; special attention to research methodology issues that are particularly relevant to integrative medicine research; extensive training in methods to enhance reproducibility in research; opportunities to conduct original research; training in research ethics; and exposure to diverse integrative approaches to patient care involving all age groups from early childhood through old age. The interprofessional TRIM faculty is strongly committed to mentoring and has 11 core and 10 affiliated members representing internal medicine, family medicine, psychology, neuroscience, molecular biology, anthropology, biostatistics, psychoneuroendocrinology, women’s health, pediatrics, health services research, medical ethics, and psychiatry. TRIM faculty provide expert and comprehensive mentoring, as well as required and optional academic activities that are tailored to each trainee’s individual learning objectives. The program is strongly committed to addressing issues of health equity and diversity, equity, and inclusion among its faculty and trainees; as one metric, 43% of pre-doctoral fellows in the last four years are underrepresented minorities in medicine.