The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Grant Abstract: 2020 International Congress for Integrative Medicine and Health

Grant Number: 1R13AT010842-01
PI Name: Hecht
Project Title: 2020 International Congress for Integrative Medicine and Health

Abstract: This R13 application requests support for a conference entitled, 2020 International Congress on Integrative Medicine and Health, to be held at the at the Cleveland Hilton, April 28 to May 1, 2020. The conference is sponsored by the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health (Consortium), which represents over 70 academic health centers and health systems in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, with programs in integrative health. This conference is meant to showcase original scientific research involving complementary and integrative health therapies, using keynote and plenary presentations, posters, symposia and workshops. Basic science, clinical, and health service researchers will present original research and moderate panel presentations selected through a peer-review process. Leaders in the field will be invited to provide keynote addresses and to moderate concurrent research presentations. The planning for the conference is overseen by the Oversight/Organizing Committee, which is composed of the Chairs of the Program, Scientific Review, and Finance Committees, together with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Consortium. The Program Committee, with 17 members representing diverse areas in integrative health, has key responsibility for planning the meeting content, including selecting the plenary speakers and meeting symposia. The Oversight/Organizing Committee and Program Committee members are leaders from the conventional and complementary medical research communities. Proposals for sessions (symposia, featured discussions and workshops) will be solicited, as will submission of research abstracts. Research abstracts will undergo peer-review for quality in a process conducted by the Scientific Review Committee using a pool of about 100 expert reviewers through a deidentified peer review process. This will be the 7th scientific conference sponsored by the Consortium. The most recent conference, in 2018 in Baltimore, MD, had 908 attendees, representing over 150 academic institutions and organizations from 26 countries. There were 784 scientific abstracts submitted, of which 90 were accepted for oral presentations, and 564 for poster presentations. The conference was highly rated, with 93% of participants rating the quality as excellent or good. This grant is specifically aimed at increasing attendance at the meeting by trainees and others with financial barriers to attendance. Most of the funding will be directed at reducing the student registration rate and providing travel scholarships. Travel scholarships will be awarded based on three criteria, elements of which will be assessed using a brief application for the awards: submission of an abstract with strong reviewer ratings, financial need, and bringing diversity to the meeting. Diversity in meeting attendees will be assessed in part based on training in integrative health fields that are less represented among established researchers. This gathering of international participants is aimed to achieve our stated goal of strengthening research and collaboration in integrative healthcare around the world.

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