Among our research activities at the UA Center for Integrative Medicine and the Institute for Place and Wellbeing are the following:
Project 1: We are developing methods and devices to measure stress and immune biomarkers non-invasively in sweat in real-time, and methods to link human physiological, behavioral, and psychological responses to environmental attribute exposures in real-time. This is the next frontier of personalized medicine, precision medicine, and mobile health.
In our sweat biomarker work, we are partnering with the U.S. Air Force Research Labs and a consortium of FlexTech Alliance (flexible hybrid electronics industry) partners to develop flexible devices to detect biomarkers in sweat in real time.
Potential clinical projects in which a medical resident could participate include studies in which sweat and blood are being collected for biomarker measures during:
- Exercise and sports medicine protocols
- Asthma exercise protocols
- Heat and dehydration protocols
- Molecular discovery studies to identify presence of biomarkers in various bodily tissues (e.g. skin biopsies)
Project 2: In our research linking environmental attributes to human responses, we are partnering with the U.S. General Services Administration and industry partners to measure the impact on physiological, behavioral and psychological responses to environmental features of office and hospital/clinic spaces.
Potential clinical projects in which a medical resident could participate include:
- Field testing in hospital and clinic facilities, using state-of-the-art heart rate variability monitors, to measure stress, relaxation and behavioral responses (posture, activity, sleep) and psychological and mood experience sampling using smart phone apps.