Complementary and Integrative Medicine Training Program

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Our objective is to prepare post-residency physicians with knowledge and skills to conduct scientifically rigorous research in complementary and integrative medicine. The program will focus on complementary approaches that may be useful in the prevention and treatment of chronic illnesses and integrated with conventional medicine. The program will emphasize two areas: evaluation of natural products (botanical, herbal and other bio-organic extracts); and psychobiological medicine (meditation, social support, guided imagery, spirituality, yoga, tai chi, and aerobic exercise). The two-year program will emphasize conceptual, methodological and practical foundations to conduct methodologically rigorous research in complementary and integrative medicine. The fellows will enroll in the Master's Program in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Services Research with 20 required courses. In addition, they will enroll in nine courses focusing on CAM modalities and taught by CAM practitioners. Each fellow will complete all courses and use their resultant knowledge and skills to design and conduct their own research project under highly structured mentorship. This program is research intensive and the research projects are at the core of each fellow's work. The CAM practitioners will form a collaborative research network to provide the foundation for fellows' projects in different disciplines. The program is built on the strengths of our multidisciplinary faculty, who have collaborated for fifteen years, with expertise in clinical epidemiology, health services research, behavioral science, biostatistics, health economics and medical informatics. We have now developed a partnership with CAM practitioner experts in mind-body medicine including meditation, guided imagery, yoga, tai chi, qigong, and practitioner experts in acupuncture and traditional Chinese Medicine. This program will prepare new investigators to contribute new knowledge that distinguishes effective CAM treatments from ineffective or potentially harmful ones. It will prepare fellows to become independent investigators who can successfully compete for peer-reviewed funding. A key element of the program is to foster the development of minority scholars in the field of complementary and integrative medicine research. The overall goal of our post-doctoral program is to develop physician-scientist experts in research methodology, who will go on to conduct their own CAM research.