Announcements  Director's Message from Helene M. Langevin, M.D. June 3, 2022 Research on the potential value of complementary and integrative health approaches in managing chronic pain and opioid use disorder is a high priority for the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). Much of this research, including theprograms NCCIH is leading or co-leadingas part of the Helping to End Addiction Long-termInitiative, or NIH HEAL Initiative, focuses on psychological or physical approaches such as mindfulness-based interventions or acupuncture. However, approaches involving natural products may also have roles to play. One such product is kratom(Mitragyna speciosa). |
 June 7, 2022 Emmeline Edwards, Ph.D. If you have an idea for an innovative but risky research project within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) mission, I urge you to consider applying for one of the funding opportunities offered by the NIH High-Risk, High-Reward Research (HRHR) program. ThisNIH Common Fundprogram is designed to supportcompelling research proposals that have transformative potential but might not fare well in the traditional peer review process. |
 June 2, 2022 Martina Schmidt, Ph.D. InPart Iof this blog post, I offered some general tips from the Office of Scientific Review (OSR) at the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). Here in Part II, I provide some ideas on meeting several major requirements for which applications areadministratively reviewedbefore they enter the larger review process. |
 The brains processing of pain differs among people, with more individual variation in some brain regions than others, according to a new study from an international group of institutions in South Korea, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Canada, and the United States, including the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. The findings of this study, published in the journalNature Neuroscience,may help researchers identify potential targets for personalized assessment and treatment of pain. |
 Substituting lutein and zeaxanthin for beta-carotene in a dietary supplement that slows the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) increased the supplements effectiveness and reduced the risk of lung cancer due to beta-carotene, according to a follow-up analysis of a large clinical trial. This new report, which analyzed 10 years of data from Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2), was funded by the National Institutes of Health and published inJAMA Ophthalmology. |
Resources for Researchers Highlighted Opportunities Upcoming Events The NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory is holding a virtual workshop to explore questions critical to designing and implementing pragmatic clinical trials conducted within healthcare systems. This workshop is an opportunity to glean the most salient lessons learned from an experienced group of pragmatic trial investigators who will openly share the challenges they have encountered, solutions they have developed, and thoughts for the future. The workshop will take place on June 15-16, 2022, from 1:00-5:00 p.m. ET each day. All sessions are free and open to the public. See the full schedule and register today.  June 23, 2022, 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. ET; Videocast Speaker:Elissa Epel, Ph.D.,Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Psychiatry;Director, Aging, Metabolism, and Emotions Center;Director, Consortium for Obesity Assessment, Study, and Treatment (COAST) University of California, San Francisco San Francisco, CA Given the rising levels of global stress, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, loneliness and mental health problems are on the rise, adding to the burden of chronic diseases. Understanding and promoting emotional well-being (EWB) may yield another important strategy to accomplish this and significantly improve peoples health. Little has been known about how to best increase EWB in ways that also improve health. Dr. Epel is principal investigator of a new research network to develop resources and a multidisciplinary community of scholars focused on researching EWBits links to physical health, interventions that could best increase it, and the processes that explain how EWB impacts health. Dr. Epel will review findings and lessons learned from clinical trials, the lab, and the field. |
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