Symposium on Yoga Research: Conference Only

Robert Saper, MD, is an associate professor of family medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine, and director of the Boston Medical Center Program for Integrative Medicine and Health Care Disparities.

Sara W. Lazar, PhD, is an associate researcher in the psychiatry department at Massachusetts General Hospital and an assistant professor in psychology at Harvard Medical School. The focus of her research is to elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of yoga and meditation, both in clinical settings and in healthy individuals.

Karen J. Sherman, PhD, MPH, is a senior scientific investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute and an affiliate professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington’s School of Public Health.

Arlene A. Schmid, PhD, OTR, is a research scientist at the Roudebush Veterans Administration Hospital and an assistant professor in the Indiana University Department of Occupational Therapy in Indianapolis, IN.

Jennifer Huberty, PhD, is an associate professor at Arizona State University in the School of Nutrition and Health Promotion. Her research interests include physical activity and lifestyle behavior change in women including the use of complementary approaches to improve health.

Takakazu Oka is a Japanese physician specializing in psychosomatic medicine. He exclusively treats patients with stress-related, psychosomatic diseases, i.e., physical diseases and conditions affected by psychosocial factors.

Susan Gould-Fogerite, PhD, associate professor, clinical laboratory sciences and primary care, Rutgers School of Health Professions, BS, medical technology, SUNY at Albany and Albany Medical College, and PhD, microbiology and immunology, Albany Medical College, is an inventor on more than 25 patents, and founder and former director of a specialty pharmaceutical company.

Brandon Eggleston PhD, MPH, MCHES, CPH, researches the psychosocial determinants of yoga practice and also the benefits of yoga for various populations including children, college athletes, older adults, and individuals with chronic conditions.

Sundar Balasubramanian, PhD, is a researcher at the Medical University of South Carolina studying cancer therapeutics and yoga. His recent research provides evidence of how pranayama (yogic breathing) practices could promote well-being in the context of health and disease as studied using alterations in salivary biomarkers.

Sat Bir S. Khalsa, PhD, is assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Research Director for Kripalu.

Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, PhD, MPH, RD, RYT-500, focuses on a broad spectrum of eating and weight-related outcomes including eating disorders, unhealthy weight control behaviors, body image, dietary intake, weight stigmatization, and obesity.

Stephanie Sohl, PhD, is an assistant professor at the Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Kim Innes, PhD, is an epidemiologist and clinical research scientist with a particular interest in yoga and related mind-body therapies.

Karen M. Mustian, PhD, MS, MPH, ACSM, FSBM, is an associate professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center.