The Rochester Center for Mind Body Research (RCMBR)

Key Features of the RCMBR:

In research as well as in clinical practice, scientists at the University of Rochester have long considered the integration of behavior, the brain, immunity and health.  Indeed, the field of psychoneuroimmunology emerged largely through the collaborations of Rochester psychologists (led by Robert Ader, PhD), neuroscientists (led by David Felten, MD, PhD), and immunologists (led by Nicholas Cohen, PhD).  Research in PNI has expanded from basic animal research to include a program of clinical PNI.  Rodent studies of behavioral conditioning and stress have enabled us to control environmental stimuli, immunological challenges, and genetics.  In animal and clinical studies, we remain committed to developing relevant cutting edge technologies to further our research.

Since its inception in 2004, the RCMBR has developed a successful track record for piloting cross-disciplinary research that is frequently conducted in busy primary care or specialty clinics.  Key to this process is involving physicians as partners in the research, and inviting them to participate early on in many aspects of research design.  The same strategy is applied as we move into community settings; partnerships with community organizations are being developed to promote participation in our clinical research.  A strength of our program of mind-body research is our ability and desire to integrate epidemiological and clinical research perspectives and attend to sampling considerations in clinical mind-body research. 

• The RCMBR brings together social scientists affiliated with the Laboratory of Personality and Development (School of Medicine and Dentistry), the Rochester Center to Improve Communication in Healthcare (School of Medicine and Dentistry), and the Human Motivation Group (College of Arts and Sciences).  For example, effective health care communication may reduce patients’ depression and anxiety, changing responsiveness to medications, while at the same time improving adherence to them.  In turn, our enhanced program of social science research, with an emphasis on mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR), will lay the foundation for innovations in psychoneuroimmunology. 
• Another feature of RCMBR is our ability to integrate epidemiological and clinical research perspectives and attend to sampling considerations in clinical mind-body research.  Too often, sampling issues have been overlooked in mind-body research.  In essence, we see a disconnect between clinical mind-body research and epidemiologic research bearing on mind-body relations.  We aim to bridge this gap.  We have an interest in comparing findings across recruitment sites (primary versus specialty care), socioeconomic strata, or geographic region (e.g., urban versus rural).  Our attention to the issue of sampling will be facilitated by our rich referral source based in specialty clinics (cardiology, dermatology, clinical immunology), nursing homes, and primary care settings; a geographic location that allows for an examination of both urban and rural samples; and the presence of epidemiologically-trained faculty on our research team (Drs. Conner, Fiscella, and Silenzio) and Internal Advisory Board (Dr. Pearson). 
• An additional feature is the established collaborations maintained with investigators at other institutions.  
• Our mentoring culture and infrastructure into which new Center members will be integrated is a key featuer of RCMBR.  The RCMBR is using the mentoring model of the Department of Psychiatry, which has a strong commitment to faculty development.  The effectiveness of our mentoring is reflected in the number of training grants and K-awards secured over the past several years.