Francesca Nicosia UCSF Assistant Professor

Research

Dr. Francesca Nicosia, PhD, C-IAYT, is a medical anthropologist, certified yoga therapist, and health services researcher at the San Francisco VA Health Care System and an Assistant Professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Institute for Health & Aging.

She holds a Master's degree in Medical and Biological Anthropology from the University of Colorado, Denver, and a doctorate from the Joint Medical Anthropology Program at the University of California, San Francisco-Berkeley.

Her research focuses on:
1) implementation of mind-body movement interventions
2) biopsychosocial care models and nonpharmacologic interventions to improve pain and functional outcomes for older adults and veterans;
3) qualitative and ethnographic methods in implementation science.

Currently, Dr. Nicosia is Principal Investigator of a multi-site tele-yoga program funded by the Veterans Health Administration, Office of Rural Health and a feasibility trial of an integrated clinical yoga therapy program for midlife and older women veterans with persistent pain funded by the Veterans Health Administration, Health Services Research & Development Pain/Opioid Core. She is collaborating with UCSF's Dr. Alison Huang to evaluate the LILA trial (Lessening Incontinence through Low-impact Activity), a randomized controlled trial testing a group-based yoga practice program versus physical conditioning program for the treatment of urinary incontinence in women.

Dr. Nicosia is a Co-Investigator on studies funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging focused on implementing the Preventing Loss of Independence through Exercise (PLIÉ) program. PLIÉ is an evidence-based integrative, group movement program for people living with cognitive impairment and dementia and their care partners. First tested in a community-based adult day setting, PLIÉ is being implemented in long-term care and online settings. Lean more about joining an ongoing research study testing an online version of PLIÉ with Together Senior Health.

You can read more about my research here.

Dr. Francesca Nicosia poster that won "People's Choice Award" for best poster at the 2021 Integrative Medicine for the Underserved (IM4US) conference

Publications & Media

  • Alison J. Huang, Margaret A. Chesney, Michael Schembri, Sarah Pawlowsky, Francesca Nicosia, and Leslee L. Subak.
    Rapid Conversion of a Group-Based Yoga Trial for Diverse Older Women to Home-Based Telehealth: Lessons Learned Using Zoom to Deliver Movement-Based Interventions.
    Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine, Feb 2022.188-192