Bastyr University Research Center Launches New Programs
For more than two decades, Bastyr University has played a major role in increasing the amount of research activity in the field of natural health sciences. To date, more than 75 studies have been conducted at the Bastyr University Research Center in a range of areas including basic science, nutrition, botanical medicine and homeopathic medicine.
The year 2007 was a major turning point for the Bastyr University Research Center, with an increase in NIH funding, revitalized areas of focus and more diversified opportunities for graduate students and other researchers. The Center launched new research programs in the areas of healthy aging, diabetes and obesity, pediatrics, immune health and herbal medicine, creating new opportunities for students to integrate research into their learning experience at Bastyr University. In another exciting development, the Research Center secured future international research collaborations with universities in both Japan and Korea.
Additionally, two new studies were recently funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health (NIH/NCCAM). The first study will further investigate the use of Echinacea for children's colds, and the other will explore the use of an extract from a specific type of mushroom, Trametes versicolor, for the treatment of breast cancer. Both of these studies will advance scientists’ knowledge about how these therapies interact with the body.
This year, the Research Center also expanded opportunities for students to collaborate with Bastyr University researchers through its research scholarship and predoctoral training program. The University’s new research scholarship program allows six students each year to work one-on-one with a Bastyr University Research Center faculty member on a research study. This innovative program, which receives more than 100 applicants each year, awards recipients $1,500 in cash and $1,500 in financial aid funding, while enabling them to collaborate with a mentor who has a background in their field of study. The Bastyr Research Center’s predoctoral training program also gives students an opportunity to design and execute a research project while receiving individualized mentoring from research teams at some of the region’s leading academic and medical institutions, including the University of Washington, Washington State University, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Virginia Mason Hospital and Medical Center. This training program is offered to only six graduate students per year and students receive a stipend while completing the three-month program. This opportunity is offered to students between their first and second year in a master’s or doctoral program.
For more than two decades, Bastyr University has played a major role in increasing the amount of research activity in the field of natural health sciences. To date, more than 75 studies have been conducted at the Bastyr University Research Center in a range of areas including basic science, nutrition, botanical medicine and homeopathic medicine.