James Carmody, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department
of Medicine, Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine
His interest is in delineating the qualities of attending to experience that
are associated with well being. As such, his research is in the psychological
and neural mechanisms of mind-body processes. He is principal investigator on
several NIH-funded clinical trials of mindfulness. Jim is a New Zealander and
studied and practiced in Zen, Tibetan, Theravada and Advaita traditions in a
number of countries over forty years. He has been a therapist, an instructor
in the UMass Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program and Director of Research
for the Center for Mindfulness. He teaches mindfulness courses for clinicians
with the goal of making the conceptualization of mindfulness straightforward,
jargon-free and practically accessible for patients. His work has been featured
in national and international media including the New York Times, NPR, and ABC.
Education
Ph.D. University of Iowa, 1971
Projects/Grants
NCCAM 1 R01AT006948-01 (Co-I) (Bock, PI) 7/1/12-6/30/17. Efficacy
of Yoga as an Alternative Therapy for Smoking Cessation. This trial tests the
efficacy of Yoga as a complementary therapy for smoking cessation. Adult smokers
will be provided with smoking cessation counseling and randomly assigned to
either Yoga, or a Control group given a Health & Wellness program to control
for contact time. Also tests mediators of efficacy and the relationship between
maintenance of yoga practice and smoking status.
U.S. Veterans Administration (Co-I) 10/1/11 - 9/30/13. A Multisite
Randomized Controlled Trial of Mindfulness Meditation Therapy for PTSD. The
VA has made it a research priority to evalaute new treatments for PTSD,
a mental illness prevalent among veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
This trial evaluates the efficacy of mindfulness meditation and associated biomarkers.
NCCAM, (R21) Carmody (Site PI) (S Lazar PI) 7/01/07 – 10/30/10.
fMRI Investigation of Mind-Body Stress Reduction An examination of brain function
and its relationship to psychological variables in mindfulness-based stress
reduction compared to the relaxation response.
NCCAM (R21 AT002910-01) Carmody (PI) 9/01/05 - 9/31/10. Mindfulness
Based Stress Reduction for Hot Flashes. The goal of this study is to evaluate
the feasibility and trial the efficacy of mindfulness-based stress reduction
in reducing hot flash frequency, severity, bother and quality of life for women
experiencing severe hot flashes.
NINR (R01 NR009257-01A1) Carmody (Site PI) (Bauer-Wu PI) 8/05/05
- 05/31/2010. Mindfulness Meditation in Bone Marrow Transplantation. A study
to evaluate the effect of mindfulness meditation on the quality of life and
immune parameters of patients going through the bone marrow transplantation
process. A two-site trial with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
NCCAM (R21 AT002938-01A1) Carmody/Pbert (PI) 1/10/06 - 9/31/09.
Asthma and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. A randomized trial to evaluate
the efficacy of participation in mindfulness-based stress reduction compared
with a respiratory-health education program on asthma symptoms.
NCCAM (R21 AT002938) Carmody/Pbert (PI) 6/1/07 – 9/29/09. Immune
Function in MBSR for Asthma. Supplemental grant to study an immunoregulatory
model of changes in immune function associated with psychological and clinical
changes in participants in the mindfulness-based stress reduction for asthma
trial.
Samueli Foundation (Co-I) 10/1/2006 - 9/30/2008. A trial of mindfulness
based stress reduction on the Hippocampus in Iraqi Veterans with symptoms of
PTSD. To assess the effects of MBSR on prevention of PTSD in returning Iraq
war veterans at risk for PTSD, and to assess brain mechanisms, including the
hippocampus, memory and cognition, that may mediate this effect.
U.S. Army (CFMRP DAMD17-02-1-0091) Carmody (PI) 01/02/01 - 12/31/05.
A Holistic Quality of Life Intervention for Men with Secondary Prostate Cancer
The goal of this RCT is to test the hypothesis that an intervention that integrates
dietary change and mindfulness-based stress reduction will significantly increase
participants’ QOL through improvements in their social, emotional and physical
well-being (including reduced PSA velocity).
NCCAM (R21 AT01327-01) Reiff-Hekking (PI) 9/30/02 – 5/31/04. Exploring
the Effect of Meditation on Hypertension The overall goal of this two-year proposal
is to gather preliminary data evaluating the effectiveness of Vipassana Meditation
Training on reducing blood pressure in mild hypertensives.
Media Interviews:
Public lecture on March 6, 2013, AUT University,
Auckland, New Zealand:
http://www.aut.ac.nz/study-at-aut/study-areas/education/news/public-lectures
National Public Radio Morning Report on the Psychiatry Neuroscience article
on increases in gray matter associated with mindfulness training:
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wfcr/news.newsmain/article
Radio New Zealand Nine to Noon program:
http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ntn/ntn-20110215-0929-The_science_of_meditation-048.mp3
Australian Broadcasting Corporation nationally
broadcast radio program ‘All in the Mind’ on Dr Carmody’s research on the role
of meditation in medicine:
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/allinthemind/dr-mindfulness-science-and-the-meditation-boom/3226658
References to, and Articles on
Dr Carmody’s mind-body research have appeared in:
New
York Times (#1 on the most emailed list for 5 days - Jan 29-30 Feb 2), top 10
for 3 more days
Boston
Globe Lifestyle section cover
WBUR
– Anthony Brooks 2/7/11
Huffington
Post
Sciencedaily.com
NIH/NCCAM
“In the news”
UMass
Medical School's Newsletter
Others: ABC Good Morning
America, Prevention, Men’s Health, Readers Digest, Boston Herald, ABC World
News with Peter Jennings
