Vision Statement

Vision Aim 1: Investing in Research
The Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology will advance research by fostering psychoneuroimmunology research projects. Our highest research priority is the linkage of basic and clinical research and the translation of robust and practical findings into the clinic.
Objectives:
(a) Sponsor inter-disciplinary conferences to stimulate broad-based research in psychoneuroimmunology and the inter-relationships between mind and body.
(b) Support rigorous psychoneuroimmunology research including, but not limited to, studies of basic biology and disease pathogenesis, elucidating mechanisms of actions, and outcomes research in immune-mediated disease.
(c) Establish programs of research, in coordination with basic and clinical disciplines, in those areas where the most promising opportunities for translation of psychoneuroimmunology research into clinical practice are identified.

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Vision Aim 2: Training and Outreach
The Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology will expand the number of investigators committed to psychoneuroimmunology research by providing career development opportunities and by enhancing researchers' knowledge and experience in specific areas relevant to understanding the interactions among behavior, brain and immunity. Moreover, the Center will foster a public image that conveys our dedication to exploring the contributions of the field of psychoneuroimmunology to medicine and healing practices.
Objectives:
(a) Stimulate collaborations across academic disciplines and between basic science and clinical investigators in the academic community that will encourage inter-disciplinary research efforts.
(b) Train doctors of medicine and others with advanced degrees to conduct psychoneuroimmunology-related basic and clinical research, and to carry this research into the practice of medicine.
(c) Sponsor workshops and regional meetings to provide a forum for the public to obtain information and contribute input to research efforts on the inter-relationships between mind and body with a focus on immune mediated processes.

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Vision Aim 3: Facilitating Integration
The Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology will facilitate a practice of medicine that integrates the intricate interactions of mind and body. Our goal is to have conventional healthcare professionals deliver an expanded repertoire of safe and effective treatments that include a focus on the whole person.
Objectives:
(a) Develop a model curriculum that incorporates evidence-based psychoneuroimmunology and mind-body medicine practices for schools of medicine.
(b) Sponsor consensus conferences and workshops on psychoneuroimmunology and validated mind-body medicine therapies to enable conventional healthcare providers to identify effective interventions for use in treating patients with immune-mediated disease.
(c) Support demonstration projects focusing on how most effectively to translate psychoneuroimmunology and behavioral medicine findings into practice.

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