UC San Diego Receives $2.45M from InnerScience to Accelerate Research on the Effects of Meditation
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The University of California San Diego has received $2.45 million from InnerScience Research Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding studies on the biological and physical effects of meditation on the human body.
This gift will support ongoing research conducted at the UC San Diego School of Medicine’s Department of Anesthesiology, which is exploring the effects of meditation on the body. The recent gift builds upon an initial $10 million investment from InnerScience in 2023 to deepen our understanding of the mind-body connection.
Professor Hemal Patel, Ph.D., reviewing data from patients participating in a meditation event. Photo courtesy of Encephalon, Inc.
“We are so grateful to InnerScience for this forward-looking investment in scientific discovery,” said Hemal H. Patel, Ph.D., professor of anesthesiology and lead researcher. “Our central goal is to gain a better understanding of how mental states can alter biological systems, which has the potential to help patients dealing with mental health issues, chronic pain and even diseases like cancer.”
As part of a continuing study entitled “QUest to ANalyze a Thousand hUmans Meditating,” or QUANTUM, Patel and his team are assessing the impact of meditation on nearly 7,000 individuals undergoing intensive meditative experiences. By capturing data from a large cohort of healthy and non-healthy individuals, they are looking to gain insights into how meditation affects their biological systems.
Consenting participants are randomly selected to be research subjects at Joe Dispenza, D.C.’s week-long meditation retreats around the world. The UC San Diego team uses wearable devices to track biometrics, including heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep, activity and more. That data is then coupled with health survey results and “omic” studies conducted on the subjects’ blood, microbiome, urine and tears.
As part of the research, individuals are monitored during mediation to study potential mind-body connections. Photo courtesy of Encephalon, Inc.
Researchers are also examining biometric data on a longer-term, 12-month basis to understand the long-lasting effects of meditative experiences. More focused studies have also looked at fMRI and qEEG results to assess brain activity.
The team is generating and integrating the data sets into a large machine-learning platform that assesses multiple aspects of the data. Their goal is to discover common signatures in the meditative experiences that may indicate health changes.
“With the support of the InnerScience donor community, this groundbreaking research is rapidly advancing a new paradigm, revealing how the mind influences biology and unlocking the full potential of human healing,” said Hillari Hamilton, D.C., director of donor relations for InnerScience Research Fund.
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