NCCIH Research Blog

Please mark your calendar for Wednesday, June 7, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. ET, when we will hold a Hot Topics Webinar, “Launching a Career in Health Disparities Research—An NCCIH Perspective.”

Expanding our portfolio of research on complementary and integrative health approaches to address health disparities is a high priority for the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), as discussed in our strategic plan for FY 2021–2025. We support studies on the efficacy and effectiveness of complementary approaches to reduce disparities related to pain, obesity, and mental, emotional, and behavioral health. We also promote research on the use of complementary approaches to address the role of social and structural determinants of health, and we support implementation science research in health disparity populations.

To increase the number of well-trained investigators who are studying the use of complementary and integrative health approaches to reduce health disparities, we also support training and career development opportunities for early-career investigators who are working in this important field. And we’re delighted that three of those investigators, all of whom are conducting NCCIH-funded health disparities research in HIV populations, will join us at the webinar.

The webinar will begin with opening remarks by NCCIH Director Dr. Helene M. Langevin. Next, Dr. Emmeline Edwards, director of our Division of Extramural Research, will provide an overview of NCCIH’s priorities for health disparities research. After Dr. Edwards’s presentation, the three investigators will briefly explain their projects and participate in a guided discussion about their career paths, including the challenges involved in conducting research on health disparities. Our three guest speakers are:

• Dr. Crystal Chapman Lambert of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who is studying the feasibility of a mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention for Black women living with HIV.
• Dr. Shufang Sun of Brown University, whose project involves developing an internet-delivered mindfulness-based intervention to reduce HIV risk and promote mental and sexual health among young adult men who have sex with men.
• Dr. Eugene Dunne of Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry, who is investigating the feasibility and acceptability of tai chi as a mind and body intervention to improve chronic pain management for adults who are living with HIV.

Participants in the webinar will have the opportunity to engage in an interactive question-and-answer session with the three investigators. 

We hope you will join us on June 7 for this special event. 

For More Information

• Register for the June 7 webinar, “Launching a Career in Health Disparities Research—An NCCIH Perspective”
• Learn more about NCCIH’s support of biomedical workforce diversity programs and health disparities research