Diversity, affirmative action, and equal opportunity
Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity at OHSU exists to promote diversity and prevent discrimination. Learn about affirmative action and equal opportunity at the OHSU Department of Neurology.
The BENFRA Center is actively committed to equity, inclusion and expanding diversity within our Program.
The BENFRA Center is one of three national Botanical Dietary Supplements Research Centers funded (U19 AT010829) by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) and the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), and is part of the NIH CARBON program. This Center investigates Botanicals Enhancing Neurological and Functional Resilience in Aging.
The Center’s mission is to scientifically evaluate botanicals currently being sold as dietary supplements that are reputed to improve resilience to age-related changes in cognition, sleep or mood. Our goal is to obtain a firm understanding of the biological and chemical properties of these botanicals, so that well-designed clinical trials can be performed to evaluate their efficacy. Ultimately this work will support the development of optimized botanical products with reliable health benefits.
The Center comprises a multidisciplinary group of scientists based at OHSU, along with collaborators at Oregon State University, the University of Mississippi and Oregon’s Wild Harvest, a botanical dietary supplement company.
Learn more about our research, botanicals of interest, and research team.
Program Director
Amala Soumyanath B.Pharm., Ph.D.
soumyana@ohsu.edu
Center Administrator
Lucy Allison, M.S.
BENFRA@ohsu.edu
503-418-8197