The UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine (OCIM) and the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (SVYASA) propose to create an international collaboration for research on the health effects of yoga. Yoga and related meditation practices represent one of the most important complementary and alternative medicine systems used in Asia and the United States. SVYASA is one of India's leading institutions for yoga practice and research. SVYASA investigators have been trained in conventional medicine and physiology, and have published over 50 peer-reviewed papers on yoga. Collaboration with SVYASA offers OCIM researchers the opportunity to learn from investigators with one of the strongest records of conducting yoga research in its country of origin. OCIM offers SVYASA investigators access to the extensive clinical, laboratory, statistical, and training resources of one of the world's leading biomedical research universities to support collaborations. The proposal has three main aims that will prepare us for Phase II large-scale collaborative research: (1) To perform planning, assessment, and resource development to conduct Phase I pilot studies and larger Phase II studies. This aim will be accomplished through site visits, supplemented by email and telephone communication. This will include a detailed orientation of OCIM investigators to the approaches and research work of SVYASA investigators and further development of the collaborative relationships between investigators at the two institutions. We will ensure that the current Institutional Review Board at SVYASA meets NIH standards. (2) To provide training of SVYASA and OCIM investigators to prepare for additional studies. This will include using an established 2-month UCSF advanced Training in Clinical Research core program, with tailored supplemental training in areas identified as needs by SVYASA faculty. This experience will also be used to plan for future training of SVYASA faculty at UCSF, including training of new investigators and yearlong sabbatical experiences for senior faculty. (3) To perform two pilot research projects that will establish the basis for larger studies. One pilot research project will consist of mechanism studies examining the effect of yoga on diurnal variation of cortisol levels and the potential influence of these changes on glucose control in diabetes. This will be studied in 30 participants within an already funded randomized, controlled trial of yoga in diabetes treatment conducted at SVYASA, supplemented by a similar study in 10 persons at UCSF. The second study will be a randomized, controlled pilot test of a yoga-based intervention for 30 persons with HIV and depression. The goals of this study will be to assess recruitment strategies and acceptability of the intervention for the target population, and to obtain preliminary data on the effects of yoga on depression, quality of life, and immunologic and virologic outcomes.
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