# White Matter and Stress Reduction Effects of Mindfulness Training

> **NIH NIH K01** · CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $120,690

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Janine M. Dutcher, PhD aims to understand the brain mechanisms for behavioral interventions for stress reduction and
health. The research and training plan described in this proposal will strengthen her experience in neuroimaging with
additional training in structural neuroimaging, and launch her independent career as a multi-modal health neuroscientist.
To enable this training, Dr. Dutcher will analyze data from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of mindfulness training in
stressed employees. This study features functional and structural neuroimaging, and stress assessments—and experience
with these data will help the PI build a career that explores the brain mechanisms for stress reduction interventions.
Candidate: Dr. Dutcher is a Special Faculty Researcher in the Psychology department at Carnegie Mellon University
(CMU). She received her doctorate at UCLA in social and health psychology. Her work focused on understanding the
neural mechanisms of stress reduction, the neuroscience of inflammation and social experience, and the relationship
between reward and stress. She has worked primarily on cross-sectional and experimental studies, using functional
neuroimaging methods for testing neural mechanisms. She plans to receive training in structural neuroimaging and RCTs
to advance her studies on the longitudinal brain mechanisms for behavioral interventions.
Training Goals: Dr. Dutcher aims to learn more about RCT study design, intervention integrity, and mindfulness
meditation programs—goals that her mentor Dr. Creswell can aid in. Analytically, Dr. Dutcher will receive training in
diffusion spectrum imaging from Dr. Verstynen, learning statistical techniques for linking longitudinal structural and
functional brain changes, and assessing those relationships as a mechanism for the benefits that interventions have on
stress and health. Finally, Dr. Dutcher will hone the professional skills that will support her pathway to independence,
including grant writing, networking, and more mentoring opportunities through managing research teams.
Mentors/Environment: Dr. Dutcher has overseen the day-to-day execution of an RCT exploring the effects of a
mindfulness training program on stress and burnout in a stressed employee population with Dr. Creswell. She and Dr.
Verstynen coordinated to add diffusion spectrum and functional neuroimaging pre- and post-intervention. Thus, she will
be leveraging an existing dataset and existing collaborations to achieve her training and research goals. She has the
resources and support of CMU, proximity to other collaborators, and the ideal mentoring team for executing this proposal.
Research: Although the literature has established mindfulness as an effective stress reduction intervention, the brain
mechanisms are as yet unclear. The purpose of this project is to analyze data from a rigorous RCT of a 30-day smartphone
mindfulness program compared to an active control program (problem solving) to evaluate ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10907710
- **Project number:** 5K01AT011759-03
- **Recipient organization:** CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Janine Michele Dutcher
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $120,690
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-19 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10907710

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10907710, White Matter and Stress Reduction Effects of Mindfulness Training (5K01AT011759-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10907710. Licensed CC0.

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