Mission

T32 CAM Research Training Grant Funded by NIH/NCCAM

The research training program prepares scientists for careers as research scholars and clinical investigators in the field of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

Washington-state institutions
Strong collaborative efforts
Adequate research answers questions and doubts

Washington-state institutions
The program engenders and supports the cross-training of traditional and CAM scientists using the resources available at four preeminent institutions in Washington state. Three of these institutions are in the Seattle, WA area:

Each of the four institutions boasts highly regarded and fiscally successful research and teaching programs, and has demonstrated a commitment to interdisciplinary training programs.

Strong collaborative efforts
The success of each individual institution is augmented by the strong collaborative efforts that exist between them. For example,

Two joint UW/FHCRC graduate programs utilize over 170 faculty members from the two institutions:
- Molecular and cellular biology program
- Biomolecular structure and design program
Furthermore, the UW, FHCRC, and WSU have each demonstrated a commitment to the exploration of CAM therapies and research questions. In each case they have engaged in collaborative projects with Bastyr University.

These elements combine to create a particularly fertile training ground for the cross-training of traditional and CAM medical students and scientists.

Adequate research answers questions and doubts
Public interest in and utilization of a broad spectrum of CAM therapies is currently at the highest level in the history of this country. High quality research providing accurate information to illuminate and validate these techniques will increase confidence about the efficacy, economy and safety of natural remedies. This, in turn, should have positive consequences on the economics and the effectiveness of our national health care system.

A successful medical system provides patients and physicians with the ability to choose from the largest possible armamentarium of therapeutic and preventative health care regimens, all proven to be both medically efficacious and cost effective. To continue to move toward such a system, it is vitally important that the panoply of therapeutic regimens encompassed by CAM be validated scientifically. Such validation, in turn, will proceed most quickly and efficiently with an interdisciplinary and collaborative research effort carried out by scientists trained both in rigorous research methodology and in CAM.

The program's enriched curriculum integrates laboratory research activities, hands-on clinical training, in-depth academic coursework, various seminars and other activities -- in both CAM and traditional health sciences.