Eric Loucks

Eric Loucks speaks with us today about the correlations between mindfulness, and cardiovascular health.

Many of the studies about mindfulness today focus on the effects of an intervention, what happens when a typically small group of people go through a mindfulness program, in relation to one quality being studied. But there is research being done that has larger sample sizes, are over longer periods of time, and simply ask the question: are there any correlations between one’s self reported mindfulness and health, regardless of their formal practice experience?

Eric Loucks is Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Brown University. He focuses his research on identifying biological mechanisms by which social factors such as mindfulness, education, and early life adversity may influence cardiovascular disease. He started his training with a BSc in Physiology and a PhD in Pharmacology & Therapeutics, both focused on biological mechanisms of cardiovascular disease. He then went on to a post-doctoral fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health in the Department of Society, Human Development and Health, where he was trained in social epidemiology. During and since that time he has generated research findings that have helped to better understand how biological factors such as inflammatory markers, epigenetics, blood pressure, obesity, lipids, amongst others, may be important mechanisms through which social factors could influence cardiovascular disease. This has led to over 60 peer-reviewed publications, and wide coverage of research findings in outlets such as TIME Magazine and BBC News. He uses epidemiological methodological techniques such as propensity score matching and mediation analyses to probe into plausible mechanisms that could explain social disparities in health. He is now increasingly moving into practical applications of the work, including randomized controlled trials of mindfulness interventions to reduce social disparities in cardiovascular disease.

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Web Links

• Eric Loucks
• Brown University Press Release
• TIME article, “How Mindfulness Protects Your Heart”
• Forbes article, “Mindfulness Isn’t Just Mind Medicine, It’s Also Good For Your Heart”
• Huffington Post article, “When It Comes To Matters Of The Heart, Mindfulness Can Help”

Music for This Episode Courtesy of Rodrigo Rodriguez

The music heard in this podcast is from Rodrigo Rodriguez. You can visit his website to hear more of his music, get the full discography, and view his upcoming tour dates.