CONGRATULATIONS to RESPECT Center Faculty Members Drs. Tucker Edmonds and Johns on Receiving 2012 Indiana CTSI Young Investigator Awards!

RESPECT CENTER awardees:

Brownsyne Tucker Edmonds, M.D., M.S., M.P.H., Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology IU School of Medicine, will examine counseling practices for pregnant women making delivery and resuscitation decisions for extremely premature infants. 
Grant title:  “Using Simulation to Qualitatively Assess Periviable Counseling among Obstetricians and Neonatologists”.  (Click to read abstract)
Abstract 
Physicians and families are faced with the unique and unfortunate experience of making end-of-life decisions at the very beginning of life for some extremely premature infants.  These conversations are challenging, and physicians receive little training to ensure that they provide patient-centered, culturally appropriate counseling for families.  This pilot study proposes to qualitatively assess simulated clinical encounters of obstetricians and neonatologists counseling standardized patients portraying a pregnant woman who has ruptured her membranes at 23 weeks gestational age.  The overall goal of this research is to develop an intervention that facilitates culturally sensitive, patient-centered counseling and shared decision-making among patients and providers making end-of-life decisions for periviable neonates.

Shelley Johns, Psy.D., ABPP, Assistant Professor of Medicine, IU School of Medicine, will develop, test and disseminate  behavioral interventions to treat adults suffering with cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and other debilitating symptoms with the goal of improving quality of life in patients with cancer and other chronic medical conditions. 
Grant title: “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Breast Cancer Survivors with Persistent Cancer-Related Fatigue:  A Randomized Controlled Trial.” This study has also received Walther Cancer Foundation, Inc. funding.  (Click to read abstract)
Abstract 
Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of the most prevalent, persistent, and disabling symptoms associated with cancer and its treatment, yet there are currently few evidence-based interventions for CRF. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a widely available manualized intervention that effectively reduced CRF functional interference (d = -1.43, p = .0001) and severity (d = -1.55, p = .0001) compared to wait-list control in our recent pilot study of 35 cancer survivors with clinically-significant CRF. The project proposed in this clinical trial will test whether MBSR reduces CRF compared to an attention control condition that is equivalent to MBSR in time, duration, and format, but has no focus on mindfulness. Using a 2-group repeated measures design, 60 breast cancer survivors with clinically-significant CRF (Fatigue Symptom Inventory severity composite ≥ 4) will be randomized to 8-week MBSR or attention control arms. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, post intervention, and at 6-month follow-up. If MBSR proves to be efficacious in treating CRF compared to attention control, it will add a potential treatment option for those suffering with this poorly-addressed symptom.

NOTE:  These awards are part of the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) 2012-2013 distribution of approximately $1.8 million in Young Investigator Training Awards. The awards provide career development and research support to young physicians and scientists working on promising research projects at IU School of Medicine, IUPUI, IU Bloomington, Purdue and Notre Dame. Support for these awards is provided by the National Institutes of Health and institutional funds at IU, Purdue and Notre Dame.

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