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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 and 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 for forty years. He has also 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 accessible for patients. His work has been featured in national and international media including the New York Times, NPR, and ABC.
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Education
Ph.D. University of Iowa, 1971
Projects/Grants
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:
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/0/13/1756425/WFCR Local Features/Mindfulness Can Change the Brain
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/rn/allinthemind/stories/2007/2082342.htm
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:http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/how meditation may change the brain/?src=me&ref=general
Boston Globe Lifestyle section cover: http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/articles/2011/01/31/mindfulness therapy puts the focus on improving the quality of body and spirit/
WBUR – Anthony Brooks 2/7/11 http://radioboston.wbur.org/2011/02/07/meditation
Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/23/mindfulness-meditation-brain-changes_n_812757.html
Sciencedaily.com:http://esciencenews.com/articles/2011/01/21/mindfulness meditation training changes brain structure 8 weeks
NIH/NCCAM “In the news”: http://nccam.nih.gov/health/stress/MBSR.htm?nav=upd
UMass Medical School's Newsletter: http://www.umassmed.edu/news/research/2011/jim_carmody.aspx
Others: ABC Good Morning America, Prevention, Men’s Health, Readers Digest, Boston Herald, ABC World News with Peter Jennings
