2016 International Congress on Integrative Medicine and Health

University Of California, San Francisco, San Francisco CA

Investigators

Abstract

? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This R13 application requests support for a conference entitled, 2016 International Congress on Integrative Medicine and Health, to be held at the Green Valley Ranch Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, May 17-20, 2016. The conference is sponsored by the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health (Consortium), which represents over 60 academic health centers and health systems in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with programs focusing on education, research and clinical delivery of complementary therapies and models of integrative health. This conference is meant to showcase by way of keynote and plenary presentations, posters, symposia and workshops, original scientific research involving complementary and integrative health therapies. Basic science investigators, 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 Organizing Committee, which is composed of the Chairs of five key committees (Program, Scientific Review, Finance, Fundraising, and Communications, with liaison to the Consortium's Executive and Steering Committees). The Chairs and members of the committees are leaders from the conventional and complementary medical research communities of the United States, Canada and Europe, including funded investigators, directors of integrative centers, educators and policy researchers. The Program Committee is charged with determining the themes for the conference and selecting the keynote speakers. Proposals for sessions (symposia, featured discussions and workshops) will be solicited, as will submission of research abstracts. All will undergo peer-review for quality in a process conducted by the Scientific Review Committee. Roughly 250 expert reviewers are listed in a pool of reviewers previously used for the 2014 Congress, and the de-identified peer review process is directed by the Scientific Review Committee, with recommendations from the Consortium's Research Committee. This will be the fifth scientific conference sponsored by the Consortium. The first was in Edmonton, AB, Canada in 2006 with close to 600 participants from 19 countries. The second was in Minneapolis, MN in 2009 with approximately 800 participants from 24 countries. The third was held in Portland, Oregon in 2012 with over 1,000 participants from 30 countries. The most recent conference was in Miami, Florida in 2014 with roughly 700 participants from 23 countries. This gathering of international participants is aimed to achieve our stated goal of strengthening research in integrative healthcare around the world.