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The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded a $7.2-million, 5-year research grant to Columbia's College of Physicians & Surgeons to develop a Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Research in Aging that will include a focus on women's health.
The grant is one of five specialized center grants awarded to further complementary and alternative medicine research. The award will provide an opportunity for new and established investigators to develop research in complementary and alternative medicine.
"The Center will address issues of safety, efficacy, and mechanism of action of alternative therapies, will develop and stimulate research and professional training programs, and will enhance knowledge and information in this important area of medicine," according to Fredi Kronenberg, Ph.D., associate professor of clinical physiology and director of the Center.
This Center extends and expands the work of the Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research in Women's Health, a smaller program initiated in 1995.
Initial clinical and basic science research studies will involve sex-hormone modulated conditions and diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer and osteoporosis. A strong interest of the Center is traditional systems of medicine (such as traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, Tibetan medicine and Native American medicine). One primary aspect of these systems is herbal medicine, and the Center has a particular focus on botanical medicine, including Western herbal medicine, and dietary approaches to maintaining health.
The first studies to be initiated involve the use of black cohosh for menopausal symptoms; macrobiotic diet effects on endocrine and cardiovascular systems and bone metabolism; and estrogenic effects (in vitro and in vivo) of a Chinese herbal formula.
The Center will facilitate new research through the funding of pilot projects and will initiate a fellowship program. Requests for proposals will be circulated and grants will be awarded annually.
Research collaborations already exist with faculty in a variety of schools, departments and other centers at CPMC and the Morningside campus. The Center is eager to expand these.
The Center for CAM in Aging and Women's Health is housed in the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The Rosenthal Center, established in 1993 in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, focuses on research, education and professional training.
For more information concerning the Center, please contact Christine Wade, Research Manager, at (212) 543-9536 (phone), (212) 543-2845 (fax), or visit the website at: http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/rosenthal/
Office of External Affairs, Health Sciences Division
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