Asya Rolls, PhD, Professor

The ‘mind-body’ connection is evident in every aspect of medicine, manifested by the tight relationship between our mental state and our physical well-being. Nevertheless, the interactions between the mind, a mental process, and its impact on the body, a physical entity, has been viewed as a purely philosophical question.

This leaves a major gap in our understanding of physiology and its clinical implications. Thus, for example, we do not understand why disease emerges following stress, or why one of the most effective “drugs” is a sugar pill, administered as a placebo. To answer these questions and utilize the enormous therapeutic potential embedded in the mind/body connection, we must first understand the physiological mechanisms underlying these interactions.

The Rolls lab studies how specific brain and nervous system activity regulates immunity in the context of autoimmune, inflammatory conditions and cancer.