The objective of the Diversity Supplement is to train Ms. Chapman in multiple stages of clinical research in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) to equip her with the knowledge, technical skills, and collaborative abilities that will inform her career trajectory. The proposed training plan ? a supplement to the ongoing NCCAM-funded clinical trial ?Mindfulness Based Weight Loss Maintenance? (U01AT004159) ? is designed to broaden and build upon Ms. Chapman?s basic laboratory research by giving her hands-on experience and didactic training in the area of clinical CAM research. During a unique semester-long learning experience (March ? July 2009), Ms. Chapman will receive mentorship in multiple areas of clinical investigation in CAM. Specifically, she will be trained in how to (a) conceptualize a clinical research question in the field of CAM, (b) select pertinent psychosocial and biological measures from the parent study, (c) manage data from human subjects, (d) assist with basic statistical analyses, and (e) effectively communicate results in oral and written form. In addition to expanding the applicant?s knowledge of clinical research methods pertinent to the study of CAM, Ms. Chapman will also be trained in how to (f) protect human subjects who participate in clinical research, (g) interpret biological assays of human blood specimens, and (h) analyze biobehavioral mechanisms underlying inflammatory-mediated disease. Finally, to facilitate her collaborative abilities, Ms. Chapman will actively participate in preparation of presentations for the North American Research Conference in Complementary and Integrative Medicine as well as in manuscript writing. The topic of her primary project is the potential role of mindfulness-based integrative therapies in ameliorating inflammation. Ms. Chapman?s project will also be instrumental in guiding the secondary analyses of the parent grant analytic plan vis-a-vis the potential role of decreased inflammation as a possible explanatory mechanism of our MBWLM intervention. Specifically, should we discover that MBWLM has a significant effect on reducing inflammation at the immediate post-intervention and six-months follow-up time points, we will be able to (a) justify additional funding to analyze potential longer-term effects of MBWLM on systemic inflammation (e.g., at 12-month follow-up), and (b) include change in inflammation as a potential explanatory mechanism in our multivariable path model of MBWLM intervention effects. In sum, this research experience will not only inform the parent grant, but will help to create and mold a promising young physician-scientist. If the supplement is provided, Ms. Chapman will complete the experience with a conceptual framework for assessing CAM throughout her professional medical education. This educational experience will inform her use of CAM treatments with patients across her career. Perhaps more importantly, the training will place her in a strong position to further the scientific basis for CAM and inform other trainees and healthcare providers about the importance of such.
