Prominent researchers and practitioners from across the country will join with UCSF faculty for a scientific symposium, called "Research Challenges in Integrative Medicine: Toward a New Science of Healing," that will celebrate the establishment of the new Osher Center for Integrative Medicine (OCIM) at UCSF.

Media Are Invited To Attend The Afternoon Symposium:
Date: Friday, September 25, 1998
Time: 1:00 pm-5:30 pm
Place: Cole Hall on the UCSF Campus, 513 Parnassus Ave.

The symposium features eight speakers--ranging from basic scientists to behavioral experts and health practitioners including David Eisenberg, MD, and Anne Harrington, PhD, of Harvard Medical School and Bruce McEwen,PhD, of Rockefeller University, who will join with UCSF faculty members Andy Avins,MD, Margaret Chesney,PhD, Howard Fields,MD,PhD, and Ellen Hughes, MD. They will discuss ways to understand today?s research challenges and examine the value and effectiveness of integrative medicine. Symposium topics include patient use of integrative medicine, the neurobiology of the placebo effect, and the challenges of developing a research agenda for integrative medicine.

David Eisenberg, MD, Harvard Medical School, director of the Center for Alternative Medicine Research at Beth Israel Medical Center is the author of the famous study published in the January 28, 1993 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine that documented Americans use of integrative medicine and the associated costs. He found that in 1990, Americans made an estimated 425 million visits to providers of unconventional therapy which exceeded the frequency to US primary care physicians. He is also the author of ?Encounters with Qi: Exploring Chinese Medicine? and numerous scientific articles involving alternative medical practices.

Anne Harrington, PhD, Harvard University, is the author of many books and articles including the famous, ?The Placebo Effect.? Currently, she is co-director of the Harvard Interfaculty Mind/Brain/Behavior Initiative and is a consultant for the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Mind-Body Interactions.

Bruce McEwen, PhD, Rockefeller University, coined the term allostatic load, which is the price our bodies pay for the ability to adapt to stress and change. He also documented eight physical indicators of the body that can be measured to give a tangible indication of an individual?s personal stress load.

A morning wellness lecture will start the day featuring seven speakers including Laura Esserman, MD, co-director of the UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center; Rachel Naomi Remen, MD, UCSF assistant clinical professor of medicine; Ward Gypons, MD, medical director of the UCSF and SFGH Rehabilitation Center.

Media Are Invited To Attend The Morning Lecture:
Date: Friday, September 25, 1998
Time: 7:30 am-10 am
Place: St. Francis Hotel, 335 Powell St.

Lecture topics include expressive arts, yoga, herb therapies; the overtly spiritual in cancer treatments; alternatives in pain management; homeopathy and holistic approaches; and the art and science of healing.

NOTE: Media must RSVP for the morning session since space is limited and breakfast will be provided.
Please contact Abby Sinnott in UCSF News Services at (415) 885-7277 if you plan to attend the morning wellness lectures

Osher Center for Integrative Medicine Scientific Symposium "Research Challenges in Integrative Medicine: Toward a New Science of Healing"
Date: September 25, 1998
Time: 1:00pm-5:30pm
Location: Cole Hall, UCSF Campus

1:00-1:05WelcomeHaile Debas1:05-1:15IntroductionEllen Hughes1:15-1:45The Public Mandate: Patient Utilization of Integrative Medicine David Eisenberg1:45-2:15The Hard Science of Integrative MedicineAndy Avins2:15-2:30Break2:30-3:00Placebo Effect: A Double Edged SwordAnne Harrington3:00-3:30Placebo: Neurobiology of the Therapeutic ProcessHoward Fields3:30-4:00Liberating the Hostage Brain: Research ImplicationsBruce McEwen4:00-4:30The Spectrum of Integrative Medicine Research: Setting the AgendaMargaret Chesney4:30-4:40Closing RemarksEllen Hughes4:40-5:30Reception