Michael Irwin, M.D.- Biographical Sketch
Norman Cousins Professor
Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences
David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA
Director & Senior Research Scientist
Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior
Research Interests

Dr. Irwin’s principal research interests focus on the mechanisms of neuroimmune interactions and the impact of PNI processes on disease including infectious disease, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and substance dependence. He has been the principal investigator of 14 federally funded research awards, including five currently active research awards from the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, National Institute of Aging, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disorders and the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

Recent Publications

Motivala SJ, Levin MJ, Oxman MN, Irwin MR.   
Impairments in health functioning and sleep quality in older adults with a history of depression. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2006 Aug;54(8):1184-91.

Frasure-Smith N, Lesperance F, Irwin MR, Sauve C, Lesperance J, Theroux P. 
Depression, C-reactive Protein and Two-year Major Adverse Cardiac Events in Men after Acute Coronary Syndromes. Biol Psychiatry. 2007 Jan 6; [Epub ahead of print]

Irwin MR, Miller AH.             
Depressive disorders and immunity: 20 years of progress and discovery. Brain Behav Immun. 2007 May;21(4):374-83. Epub 2007 Mar 13.

Redwine LS, Mills PJ, Hong S, Rutledge T, Reis V, Maisel A, Irwin MR.        
Cardiac-related hospitalization and/or death associated with immune dysregulation and symptoms of depression in heart failure patients. Psychosom Med. 2007 Jan-Feb;69(1):23-9.

Pike JL, Irwin MR. 
Dissociation of inflammatory markers and natural killer cell activity in major depressive disorder. Brain Behav Immun. 2006 Mar;20(2):169-74. Epub 2005 Jul 14.


Irwin MR, Olmstead R, Oxman MN.   
Augmenting immune responses to varicella zoster virus in older adults: a randomized, controlled trial of Tai Chi. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2007 Apr;55(4):511-7.

Motivala SJ, Sollers J, Thayer J, Irwin MR.       
Tai Chi Chih acutely decreases sympathetic nervous system activity in older adults. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2006 Nov;61(11):1177-80.
PMID: 17167159 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Irwin MR, Wang M, Campomayor CO, Collado-Hidalgo A, Cole S. 
Sleep deprivation and activation of morning levels of cellular and genomic markers of inflammation. Arch Intern Med. 2006 Sep 18;166(16):1756-62.

Cole JC, Motivala SJ, Buysse DJ, Oxman MN, Levin MJ, Irwin MR.              
Validation of a 3-factor scoring model for the Pittsburgh sleep quality index in older adults. Sleep. 2006 Jan 1;29(1):112-6.

Irwin MR, Valladares EM, Motivala S, Thayer JF, Ehlers CL.          
Association between nocturnal vagal tone and sleep depth, sleep quality, and fatigue in alcohol dependence. Psychosom Med. 2006 Jan-Feb;68(1):159-66.

Irwin MR, Cole JC, Nicassio PM.
Comparative meta-analysis of behavioral interventions for insomnia and their efficacy in middle-aged adults and in older adults 55+ years of age. Health Psychol. 2006 Jan;25(1):3-14. Review.

Gold SM, Irwin MR            
Depression and immunity: inflammation and depressive symptoms in multiple sclerosis. Neurol Clin. 2006 Aug;24(3):507-19.

O'connor MF, Irwin MR, Seldon J, Kwan L, Ganz PA.      
Pro-inflammatory cytokines and depression in a familial cancer registry. Psychooncology. 2007 May;16(5):499-501.

Bower JE, Ganz PA, Aziz N, Olmstead R, Irwin MR, Cole SW.        
Inflammatory responses to psychological stress in fatigued breast cancer survivors: relationship to glucocorticoids. Brain Behav Immun. 2007 Mar;21(3):251-8. Epub 2006 Sep 27.

Collado-Hidalgo A, Bower JE, Ganz PA, Cole SW, Irwin MR.          
Inflammatory biomarkers for persistent fatigue in breast cancer survivors. Clin Cancer Res. 2006 May 1;12(9):2759-66.

Irwin MR, Olmos L, Wang M, Valladares EM, Motivala SJ, Fong T, Newton T, Butch A, Olmstead R, Cole SW.
Cocaine dependence and acute cocaine induce decreases of monocyte proinflammatory cytokine expression across the diurnal period: autonomic mechanisms. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2007 Feb;320(2):507-15. Epub 2006 Oct 26.

Contact
Michael Irwin, M.D.
Cousins Center for PNI
300 UCLA Medical Plaza, Room 3109
Box 957076
Los Angeles, CA 90095-7076
Tel: (310) 825-8281
Fax: (310) 794-9247
mirwin1@ucla.edu