NCNM Receives $3,092,898 for NIH Research Grants

David J. Schleich

The National Institutes of Health (NCNM, Portland, OR), through the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), has awarded $3,092,898 to the Helfgott Research Institute at   NCNM for two five-year complementary integrative health (CIH) research grants.

The new grants will provide funding for studies involving mindfulness-based stress reduction for people with multiple sclerosis; and clinical research training for naturopathic doctors, Chinese medicine practitioners, as well as training in naturopathic and Chinese medicine modalities for conventional medicine researchers.

The K23 Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Multiple Sclerosis (Feasibility, Durability and Clinical Outcomes) program is being undertaken with Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). The Building Research across Inter-Disciplinary Gaps (BRIDG)/ T90/R90 Clinical Research Training program in Complementary and Integrative Health is underway in collaboration with the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle. The two NCNM research programs have been awarded a total of $672,550 and $2,420,348 respectively. NCNM and its Helfgott Research Institute have received eight NIH awards totaling $6,046,183 since 2002.

“The School of Research & Graduate Studies at NCNM and our Helfgott Research Institute are growing at an unprecedented pace—because there is a need. With the increasing use of complementary and alternative medicine, high-quality rigorous research is essential so that CIH therapies can be accurately evaluated to help keep the public informed,” said NCNM President David J. Schleich. “We are honored to be able to partner with our esteemed colleagues at OHSU and UW on these important projects to grow this critical field of research.”

The threefold aim of this program is to conduct research that will evaluate the feasibility of mindfulness-based stress reduction for people with multiple sclerosis; assess the durability of outcomes over a 12-month period; and understand which post-intervention activities and behaviors might support or inhibit sustainability.

NCNM researchers will introduce MBSR to study participants as an eight-week program consisting of weekly two-hour classes of meditation, breath work, yoga, self-reflection and awareness.

For more information, visit www.ncnm.edu.