Robert H. Schneider, MD, PhD

Physician Executive, Scientist, Educator & Academic Leader in Preventive and Integrative Medicine

About

Robert H. Schneider, MD, PhD, is a distinguished physician, researcher, and academic leader specializing in integrative medicine and cardiovascular health. He earned his Doctor of Medicine from Rutgers - New Jersey Medical School in 1981, completed his residency and fellowship in internal medicine and hypertension at the University of Michigan Medical School, and received specialized training in integrative healthcare leadership from the Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. Schneider has held numerous prestigious academic and leadership roles, including serving as Dean and Distinguished Professor of Integrative Medicine and Health at Maharishi International University, as well as Director and Senior Investigator at the Institute for Prevention Research and the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention. Additionally, he has contributed to clinical practice and health administration as Medical Director at The Raj Ayurveda Health Center and Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer at Total Health Centers LLC.

Publications

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of an Ayurvedic Herbal Formulation and Vitamin C/E on Vascular Function in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease

Medicina

2026

Transcendental Meditation to combat psychosocial stress, hypertension and cardiovascular disease

Nature Reviews Cardiology

2025

Contemplative Practices as a Form of Stress Management for Patients with Kidney Disease

Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology

2025

A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial of Meditation and Health Education in the Prevention of Cardiometabolic Disease in Black Women

Journal of Women's Health

2025

A randomized controlled trial of meditation and health education on carotid intima-media thickness and major adverse cardiovascular events in Black men and women

Frontiers in Medicine

2025

Effect of an Innovative Online Ayurveda Program for Detox and Lifestyle on Mental and Physical Health in Home-Based Adults: A Pilot Study

Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine

2025

Addressing Clinician Burnout: A Unifying Systems Medicine Model with Meditation as a Heart-Mind Intervention

Heart and Mind

2023

Peace through health: traditional medicine meditation in the prevention of collective stress, violence, and war

Frontiers in Public Health

2024

The promising role of Transcendental Meditation in the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic diseases: A systematic review

Obesity Reviews

2024

Commentary

Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing

2023

Managing the Built Environment for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention With Maharishi Vastu Architecture: A Review

Global Advances in Health and Medicine

2022

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Ayurvedic Herbal Preparations for Hypercholesterolemia

Medicina

2021

Effects of cardiac rehabilitation with and without meditation on myocardial blood flow using quantitative positron emission tomography: A pilot study

Journal of Nuclear Cardiology

2021

Randomized controlled trial of stress reduction with meditation and health education in black men and women with high normal and normal blood pressure

American Journal of Preventive Cardiology

2021

The Future of Medicine: Frontiers in Integrative Health and Medicine

Medicina

2021

2020 International Society of Hypertension global hypertension practice guidelines – lifestyle modification

Journal of Hypertension

2020

Ayurvedic herbal preparations for hypercholesterolaemia

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

2019

Abstract P341: Reduction of Insulin Resistance and Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Older African American Women: A Randomized Comparison of Transcendental Meditation and Health Education

Circulation

2019

Stress Reduction in the Prevention of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Transcendental Meditation and Health Education in Hypertensive African Americans

Ethnicity & Disease

2019

The 2017 ACC/AHA Hypertension Guidelines: Should they have included proven nonpharmacological blood pressure‐lowering strategies such as Transcendental Meditation?

The Journal of Clinical Hypertension

2019

Editorial commentary on AHA scientific statement on meditation and cardiovascular risk reduction

Journal of the American Society of Hypertension

2018

Non-trauma-focused meditation versus exposure therapy in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder: a randomised controlled trial

The Lancet Psychiatry

2018

Ayurvedic herbal preparations for hypercholesterolaemia

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

2016

Effects of Lifestyle Modification on Telomerase Gene Expression in Hypertensive Patients: A Pilot Trial of Stress Reduction and Health Education Programs in African Americans

PLOS ONE

2015

Design and rationale of a comparative effectiveness trial evaluating transcendental meditation against established therapies for PTSD

Contemporary Clinical Trials

2014

Meditation Intervention Reviews

JAMA Internal Medicine

2014

Transcendental Meditation in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease and pathophysiological mechanisms: An evidence-based review

Advances in Integrative Medicine

2014

Evidence for Upgrading the Ratings for Transcendental Meditation: Response to AHA Scientific Statement on Alternative Methods and BP

Hypertension

2013

Journal Club

Forschende Komplementärmedizin / Research in Complementary Medicine

2012

Stress Reduction in the Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease

Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes

2012

Effects of the Transcendental Meditation Program on Substance Use among University Students

Cardiology Research and Practice

2011

A self-referential default brain state: patterns of coherence, power, and eLORETA sources during eyes-closed rest and Transcendental Meditation practice

Cognitive Processing

2009

A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of Transcendental Meditation on Quality of Life in Older Breast Cancer Patients

Integrative Cancer Therapies

2009

A Randomized Controlled Trial on Effects of the Transcendental Meditation Program on Blood Pressure, Psychological Distress, and Coping in Young Adults

American Journal of Hypertension

2009

Effects of Transcendental Meditation practice on brain functioning and stress reactivity in college students

International Journal of Psychophysiology

2009

The Effects of the transcendental meditation program on mindfulness

Journal of Clinical Psychology

2009

The Relationship Between Flow‐Mediated Dilatation of the Brachial Artery and Intima‐Media Thickness of the Carotid Artery to Framingham Risk Scores in Older African Americans

The Journal of Clinical Hypertension

2009

Stress reduction programs in patients with elevated blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Current Hypertension Reports

2007

Effects of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Transcendental Meditation on Components of the Metabolic Syndrome in Subjects With Coronary Heart Disease

Archives of Internal Medicine

2006

Neuroimaging of meditation's effect on brain reactivity to pain

NeuroReport

2006

A randomized controlled trial of stress reduction in African Americans treated for hypertension for over one year

American Journal of Hypertension

2005

Long-Term Effects of Stress Reduction on Mortality in Persons ≥55 Years of Age With Systemic Hypertension

The American Journal of Cardiology

2005

Psychosocial Stress and Cardiovascular Disease Part 3: Clinical and Policy Implications of Research on the Transcendental Meditation Program

Behavioral Medicine

2005

Lowering Cortisol and CVD Risk in Postmenopausal Women: A Pilot Study Using the Transcendental Meditation Program

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

2004

Review of Controlled Research on the Transcendental Meditation Program and Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiology in Review

2004

The transcendental meditation program and quality of life in breast cancer patients: a feasibility study

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

2003

Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in the Aging with a Traditional System of Natural Medicine

Journal of Aging and Health

2002

Effect of a multimodality natural medicine program on carotid atherosclerosis in older subjects: a pilot trial of Maharishi Vedic Medicine

The American Journal of Cardiology

2002

Psychosocial Stress and Cardiovascular Disease Part 2: Effectiveness of theTranscendental MeditationProgram in Treatment and Prevention

Behavioral Medicine

2002

Psychosocial Stress and Cardiovascular Disease: Pathophysiological Links

Behavioral Medicine

2002

A double blind randomized controlled trial of Maharishi vedic vibration technology in subjects with arthritis

Frontiers in Bioscience

2001

Behavioral Treatment of Hypertensive Heart Disease in African Americans: Rationale and Design of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Behavioral Medicine

2001

Maharishi vedic vibration technology on chronic disorders and associated quality of life

Frontiers in Bioscience

2001

Effects of Stress Reduction on Carotid Atherosclerosis in Hypertensive African Americans

Stroke

2000

Improvements in Chronic Diseases With a Comprehensive Natural Medicine Approach: A Review and Case Series

Behavioral Medicine

2000

Lower Lipid Peroxide Levels in Practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation[registered sign] Program

Psychosomatic Medicine

1998

A Controlled Study of the Effects of the Transcendental Meditation® Program on Cardiovascular Reactivity and Ambulatory Blood Pressure

International Journal of Neuroscience

1997

Anger Expression Correlates With Platelet Aggregation

Behavioral Medicine

1997

Effects of the transcendental meditation program on adaptive mechanisms: Changes in hormone levels and responses to stress after 4 months of practice

Psychoneuroendocrinology

1997

Trial of Stress Reduction for Hypertension in Older African Americans

Hypertension

1996

Usefulness of the transcendental meditation program in the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease

The American Journal of Cardiology

1996

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Stress Reduction for Hypertension in Older African Americans

Hypertension

1995

Altered Responses of Cortisol, GH, TSH and Testosterone to Acute Stress after Four Months' Practice of Transcendental Meditation (TM)a

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

1994

Beta-adrenergic receptor sensitivity in subjects practicing transcendental meditation

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

1990

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and laboratory reactivity in type A behavior and components.

Psychosomatic Medicine

1989

Anger assessment and reactivity to stress

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

1989

New markers for type A behavior: pupil size and platelet epinephrine.

Psychosomatic Medicine

1987

Anger and anxiety in borderline hypertension.

Psychosomatic Medicine

1986

Methods for Measuring Vascular and Nonvascular α-Receptor Sensitivity in Humans

Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology

1985

The UK list of high-consequence infectious diseases

Oxford Textbook of Health Protection

2026

Researching U.S. Urban Murder Rates and Group Practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi Program: Evaluation of a Prospective Quasi-Experiment

Journal of Maharishi Vedic Research Institute

2017

Maharishi’s Vedic Approach to Health

Journal of Maharishi Vedic Research Institute

2021

Dr Michael C. Dillbeck’s Contribution to Integrating Modern Science and Vedic Science

Journal of Maharishi Vedic Research Institute

2024

Cardioprotective potential of Maharishi Amrit Kalash: a scoping review of evidence from experimental and clinical studies

Frontiers in Pharmacology

2026

Evaluation of a virtual Ayurvedic whole-systems lifestyle intervention for quality of life in breast cancer survivors: An exploratory randomized controlled trial

EXPLORE

2026

Diagnostic Validity of Āyurvedic Pulse Assessment: Maharishi Nādi-Vigyān in Cardiovascular Health

Journal of Maharishi Vedic Research Institute

2021

Lipoprotein(a), carotid intima– media thickness, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease

American Journal of Preventive Cardiology

2026

Is transcendental meditation effective in congestive heart failure?

Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies

2007

The effect of the Maharishi Student Rasayana food supplement on non-verbal intelligence

Personality and Individual Differences

1993

The transcendental meditation program and cardiovascular disease in native Hawaiians

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

2003

Effects of the transcendental meditation program on emotional well-being in elderly breast cancer patients: preliminary results from a randomized controlled study

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

2003

Dharma in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇ in the Light of Maharishi Vedic Science

Journal of Maharishi Vedic Research Institute

2022

Stress, Stress Reduction and Hypertension: An Updated Review

Manual of Hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension

2019

Quality as the Driving Force for Cost-Effective Psychiatric Managed Care

Journal For Healthcare Quality

1996

Autonomic Stability and Transcendental Meditation

Psychosomatic Medicine

1973

AJP nov97 Book Forum Adrenergic Dysfunction and Psychobiology

American Journal of Psychiatry

1997

Hospital at Home Program Cuts Costs, Improves Patient Health and Satisfaction

JAMA

2012

Vascular Hypertrophy in Borderline Hypertension: Relationship to Blood Pressure and Sympathetic Drive

Clinical and Experimental Hypertension. Part A: Theory and Practice

1985

3H-spiroperidol labels dopamine receptors in pituitary and brain

European Journal of Pharmacology

1977

Education

Duke University School of Medicine

Certificate, Leadership Program in Integrative Healthcare / February, 2018

American Heart Association Seminar on Epidemiology and Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases

University of Michigan Medical School

Residency-Fellowship, Internal Medicine - Hypertension / January, 1984

Rutgers - New Jersey Medical School

Doctor of Medicine (MD) / December, 1981

Experience

Total Health Centers LLC

Co-Founder, Chief Medical Officer / April, 2025 — Present

Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer / April, 2024 — Present

College of Integrative Medicine, Maharishi International University

Distinguished Professor of Integrative Medicine and Health / March, 2025 — Present

Dean Emeritus / April, 2024 — Present

Dean / January, 2017 — March, 2025

Maharishi International University

Distinguished Professor of Integrative Medicine and Health / March, 2025 — Present

The Raj Ayurveda Health Center

Medical Director / January, 2006 — Present

Institute for Prevention Research

Director and Senior Investigator / January, 2000 — Present

Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention, Maharishi International University

Director / July, 1985 — Present

College of Integrative Medicine - Dept of Physiology and Health, Maharishi International University

Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor of Physiology and Health / July, 1984 — Present

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