The network convened under this award will include experts from five disciplinary areas: i) studies of placebo response, ii) genetics, iii) social epidemiology, iv) stress physiology, and v) medical anthropology. In addition experts in biostatistics, multi-level modeling, and gastroenterology will also be included. The primary aim is to advance the integration of concepts, research designs and analytic methods from these disciplinary areas for the study of healing in Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Year One will include a review of relevant research in each of the five areas, a review of the hypotheses, design and analytic plans from an ongoing RCT """"""""Placebo Effect in IBS,"""""""" the formulation of additional hypotheses as to interactions between factors in two more of the disciplinary areas, the identification of relevant variables, and the formulation of multi-level analytic models. It will also include the formulation of hypotheses as to interactions between qualitative and quantitative variables from different areas, identification of relevant variables, and methods of integrating their analysis. In Year Two data sets from the ongoing RCT will be made available for the purpose of testing and refining the multi-level models, and the models of qualitative-quantitative analysis. These include quantitative and qualitative data from each of the disciplinary areas on the therapeutic response of participants in that trial. In Year Two the refinement and testing of multi-level analytic models, and of models of qualitative-quantitative analysis will continue. Finally, sub-groups of network participants will draft interdisciplinary research designs in the areas of healing in IBS and other similar disorders. During the two years of the award the network will meet four times and will video-conference twelve times. Study documents and data will be archived and distributed via a secure web storage site. The Performance Site will be Osher Institute, Harvard Medical School. Key Personnel are Ted Kaptchuk, OMD (PI), Lisa Conboy, ScD, Catherine Kerr, PhD, Eric Jacobson, PhD, Anthony Lembo, MD, Denesh Chitkara, MD, Eric Loucks, PhD, Dolores Acevedo-Garcia, PhD, Byron Good, PhD, Mary-Jo Delvicchio-Good, PhD, Tom Csordas, PdD, Nick Talley, MD, PhD, Jarvis Chen, ScD, Bonghyun Nam, PhD, and VC Subramanian, PhD.
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