Skip to Content
Stanford Medicine Stress Health Center

Center on Stress and Health
Stanford Medicine

Explore Stanford Medicine

  • Health Care
    • Find a doctor

    • Adult-care doctor
    • Pediatrician or pediatric specialist
    • Obstetrician
    • Clinics & Services

    • Adult care
    • Pediatric care
    • Obstetrics
    • Clinical trials
    • Locations

    • Stanford Health Care
    • Stanford Children's Health
    • Emergency Department
    • Dial 911 in the event of a medical emergency

    Explore Health Care

    Learn how we are healing patients through science & compassion

    Back
  • Research
    • Basic science departments
    • Clinical science departments
    • Institutes
    • Research centers
    • See full directory
    • Research Resources

    • Research administration
    • Academic profiles
    • Clinical trials
    • Funding opportunities
    • See all
    • Professional Training

    • Postdoctoral scholars
    • Clinical research fellows

    Research News

    Neuroscientist Michelle Monje awarded MacArthur 'genius grant'

    Neuroscientist Michelle Monje awarded MacArthur 'genius grant'

    Explore Research

    Learn how we are fueling innovation

    Back
  • Education
    • MD program
    • PA Programs
    • PhD programs
    • Masters programs
    • Continuing Medical Education
    • Postdoctoral scholars
    • Residencies & fellowships
    • High School & Undergraduate Programs
    • See all
    • Education Resources

    • Academic profiles
    • School Administration
    • Basic science departments
    • Clinical science departments
    • Alumni services
    • Faculty resources
    • Diversity programs
    • Lane Library
    • Student resources

    Education News

    Alice L. Walton School of Medicine and Stanford Medicine host AI conference on community health

    Alice L. Walton School of Medicine and Stanford Medicine host AI conference on community health

    Explore Education

    Learn how we empower tomorrow's leaders

    Back
  • Give

    Support Stanford Medicine

    • Support teaching, research, and patient care.

    • Ways to give
    • Why giving matters
    • Make a gift online

    Support Children's Health

    • Support Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford and child and maternal health

    • Ways to give
    • How your gift helps
    • Make an online gift
    Back
  • About
    • About us
    • News
    • Contacts
    • Maps & directions
    • Leadership
    • Vision
    • Diversity
    • Global health
    • Community engagement
    • Events
    • How you can help

    Stanford School of Medicine

    Stanford Health Care

    Stanford Children's Health

    Back
  • Site Search

Current Research Projects

Evaluation of Home-Based Self-Hypnosis Relaxation Training During VCUG in Children

Funded By:
Project Investigators: David Spiegel, M.D., Linda Shortliffe, M.D., Arianna Gerry, Ph.D., MPH

Pediatric care professionals and parents seek safe ways to make invasive medical procedures less stressful and traumatic for children. However, for unpleasant procedures that require child cooperation, this task becomes difficult.  The goal of the current study is to evaluate the efficacy of a home-based self-hypnosis relaxation training program for children undergoing voiding cystourethrography (VCUG) procedures. 

Acupuncture for Sleep Disruption Among Breast Cancer Survivors

Funded By: National Institutes of Health / National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine

Project Investigators: David Spiegel, M.D., Oxana Palesh, Ph.D., MPH

Sleep disruption is extremely prevalent among cancer patients. We are conducting a study to evaluate the efficacy of needle acupuncture for insomnia in breast cancer patients.

Management of Insomnia in Breast Cancer Patients

Funded By: National Institutes of Health / National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine

Project Investigators: David Spiegel, M.D., Oxana Palesh, Ph.D., MPH

Sleep disturbances, particularly insomnia, is far more prevalent in cancer patients than in the general population. This study will examine the effectiveness of current treatments, such as Brief Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia and Armodafinil (Nuvigil) in preventing and reducing insomnia and fatigue in breast cancer patients.

Efficacy of Group Intervention to Reduce Stress Symptoms

Funded By: National Institutes of Health

Project Investigator: Professor Cheryl Gore-Felton, Ph.D.

Stress has been associated with faster disease progression and worse overall psychological and physical outcomes among persons living with HIV or AIDS.

Sleep, Circadian, Hormonal Dysregulation, and Breast Cancer Survival

Funded By: National Institutes of Health

Project Investigator: Dr. David Spiegel, M.D.

We hope to learn about the relationships between psychological factors such as stress, quality of sleep, hormones, immunity, and cancer progression. 

For more information, please email Bita Nouriani.

Effects of Stress on Immune Function & Health

Funded By: National Institutes of Health

Principal Investigator: Professor Firdaus Dhabhar, Ph.D.

Although stress generally has a "bad" reputation, a short-term stress is response is nature's fundamental protective mechanism without which neither predator nor prey could survive. We are interested in identifying biological mechanisms that mediate and differentiate the recently appreciated immunoenhancing effects of short-term stress (eustress) from the well-known immunosuppressive effects of long-term stress (distress). We hope to use the knowledge gained from these studies to design bio-behavioral interventions that would harness endogenous mediators to manipulate immune function to confer maximum benefit for the patient. Our pre-clinical studies involve models of skin cell-mediated immunity, vaccines, and skin cancer.  Collaborative clinical research projects examine psychological, endocrine, and immune factors in the context of breast cancer (Spiegel et al, Stanford), knee surgery (Ickovics et al, Yale), caregiving stress (Epel et al, UCSF), depression (Wolkowitz et al, UCSF), meditation (Saron et al. UC Davis), and post-traumatic stress disorder (Altemus et al, Cornell).

For more information, please email Dr. Firdaus Dhabhar.

Expanding Rural Access: Distance Delivery of Support

Funded By: A research grant from the University of California Breast Cancer Research Program

Research Principal Investigator: Cheryl Koopman, Ph.D., Stanford University

Community Principal Investigators: Mary Anne Kreshka, M.A., and Jim Perkins, Dr.P.H.

Northern Sierra Rural Health Network

Research has shown professionally-led support groups to be an effective form of psychosocial support for women with breast cancer, yielding psychological and health benefits. Women living with breast cancer in rural areas are likely to exhaust their usual sources of psychosocial support while facing challenges posed by breast cancer, but are unlikely to have access to professionally-led support groups. Previous research suggests that support can be provided at a distance via the modality of videoconferencing and paired with the content of the workbook-journal One In Eight. Using this modality, a small group of women can gather at their local clinic, a location that is familiar to them and relatively close geographically, while in real time they participate interactively by video with a professional group leader and other women at other sites.

Please visit our website regarding the Sierra-Stanford Partnership for a California Breast Cancer Research Project (CBCRP) Grant.

For more information, please email Dr. Cheryl Koopman.

Effect of Cortisol Function on Memory and Emotion Processing in Breast Cancer

Project Investigators:  David Spiegel, M.D. and Shelli Kesler, Ph.D. 

Cortisol is a stress related hormone that tends to affect structures in the brain responsible for memory and emotion processing.  Women with breast cancer have been shown to have abnormal cortisol patterns, possibly related to chronic stress. 

For more information, please email Dr. Shelli Kesler.

Multi-Method Examination of Diverse Manifestations of Lyme Disease

Funded By: Turn the Corner Foundation and the California Lyme Disease Association; IGeneX, Inc. is also providing support. 

Principal Investigator:  Cheryl Koopman, Ph.D. 

Consultants: Daniel Cameron, M.D., Raphael Stricker, M.D. and Christine Green, M.D.

Biostatistician: Tyson Holmes, Ph.D.

Project Director: Yvonne Lin, PA-C

The overall goals of our research project are twofold:  (1) To systematically characterize different patterns of manifestations of Lyme Disease: a) in a large sample of patients seen in clinical practice who have been diagnosed with Lyme Disease for who we have retrospective medical record data; and b) in an additional sample of 100 patients diagnosed with Lyme Disease who will be recruited for the prospective phase of this research; and (2) To evaluate and compare the sensitivity of various antibody and PCR assays against patients’ and comparison groups’ clinical diagnosis and symptom and illness patterns.  This research is inspired by considerations of the critical need for further research that recognizes the diverse manifestations of Lyme disease.

For more information, please email Dr. Cheryl Koopman.

Stress, the HPA and Health in Aging

Principal Investigator:  David Spiegel, M.D. 

The goal of this Program Project grant is to determine how stress and depression affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) and the course of breast cancer, cardiovascular risk factors and cognitive impairment.

For more information, please email Dr. David Spiegel.

On This Page...

On This Page...

Center on Stress and Health
  • Mission
  • Research
    • Current Research Projects
    • Measures
    • Treatment Manuals
    • Training DVDs
    • ImagineAway
  • Publications
    • Books
  • People
    • Faculty
    • Research Scholars/Consultants/Post-Docs/Students
    • Staff
    • Previous Research Scholars/Consultants/Post-Docs/Students
  • Get Involved
  • Clinical Services
  • Links and Other Related Websites
  • Contact Us

Stress Health Center

Stanford Medicine

News

Careers

Contact

Health Care

Stanford Health Care

Stanford Children's Health

Stanford School of Medicine

About

Contact

Maps & Directions

Careers

Basic Science Departments

Clinical Science Departments

Academic Programs

Vision

Find People
Visit Stanford
Search Clinical Trials
Give a Gift
©2025 Stanford University
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Accessibility
  • Non-Discrimination
  • See us on Facebook
  • See us on X (Twitter)

Non-Discrimination

Stanford complies with all applicable civil rights laws and does not engage in illegal preferences or discrimination.
Stanford's Non-Discrimination Policy

  • Stanford University
  • Stanford School of Medicine
  • Stanford Health Care
  • Stanford Children's Health
  • Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley
  • Stanford Medicine Partners