The UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine is now recruiting for a postdoctoral fellowship position to begin in July 2013. The UCSF Osher Center’s Training in Research in Integrative Medicine (TRIM) is a post-doctoral  program funded by a T-32 Training Grant from NIH/NCCAM.  Trainees are hired for an interdisciplinary program designed for physicians, behavioral and social scientists, and doctoral level practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The program consists of required seminars and formal course work, individual mentoring, research and creative activity, elective seminars and classes, teaching, and a number of optional activities. Trainees are strongly encouraged to undertake coursework in the ATCR/TICR program. For more information, please visit the TRIM web page.

In a New York Times article entitled “Finding a Sustainable Running Stride,” which discusses a training course for runners that combines aspects of biomechanics with Tai Chi, UCSF Osher Center Director of Research Rick Hecht, MD discusses how his personal interest in running in a more healthy way turned into a research study.

Dr. Hecht explained that before the Chi Running training, “I could do my long runs, but I would feel pretty beat up afterward, sore in my muscles; my joints would feel really stressed.” After the training, which involves an integrated approach that includes proper posture, core strength, relaxed legs and mindfulness, “I feel like I could do the same kinds of distances I was doing before, and I don’t feel beat up in the same way. It feels much better running, particularly long distances.”

Dr. Hecht is now pioneering research in this area, conducting a diet and fitness study of about 200 people to measure Chi Running’s effect on blood pressure.

The first International Congress for Educators in Complementary and Integrative Medicine (www.icecim.org), jointly sponsored by the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine (CAHCIM), the Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care (ACCAHC), and Georgetown University, will take place October 24-26, 2012, in Washington, DC. Dr. Shelley Adler, the Director of Education at the Osher Center, is  serving as co-chair of the program committee.

Dr. Adler stated, “Our goal is to advance the field of integrative medicine education through the sharing of best practices in the development, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of curricula and teaching methods; the strengthening of existing partnerships; and the development of new collaborations.”

Everyone with an interest in integrative medicine education is encouraged to attend: educators, clinicians, researchers, and students–from all CAM professions, as well as biomedical professions (including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, and physical therapy).

Proposals for the following presentation formats are welcome:

• Large group presentations
• Panel discussions
• Workshops
• Small discussion groups
• Educational resources exchange
• Symposia
• Posters

The deadline to submit an abstract or session proposal is June 15.