The Massage Therapy Foundation is pleased to announce that three of the world’s most reputable researchers in the health care field are speaking at the 2016 International Massage Therapy Research Conference. The 2016 conference will take place at the Renaissance® Seattle Hotel in Seattle, Washington, May 12-15, and will offer attendees many opportunities to increase their knowledge about the latest massage therapy research. This is the foundation’s fourth research conference; it will bring together massage and manual therapy practitioners, educators, researchers and health care professionals.
Massage Therapy Foundation President Jerrilyn Cambron, L.M.T., D.C., Ph.D., stated, “We are so fortunate to have three phenomenal speakers for this research conference. I am looking forward to listening to what each presenter has to offer.”
The conference will feature the following keynote speakers:
Wayne B. Jonas, M.D.
Friday, May 13, 2016
Wayne B. Jonas, M.D., is the president and CEO of the Samueli Institute, a nonprofit medical research organization supporting the scientific investigation of healing processes and their application in health and disease. He is a widely published scientific investigator, a practicing family physician, Professor of Family Medicine at Georgetown University, and Professor of Family Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Additionally, Jonas is a retired lieutenant colonel in the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army. He was also the director of the Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health from 1995-1998, and prior to that served as the director of the Medical Research Fellowship at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Brent Bauer, M.D.
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Brent Bauer, M.D., is board-certified in Internal Medicine and has been a Professor of Medicine and on staff at the Mayo Clinic for 23 years. His main research interest has been the scientific evaluation of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies that patients and consumers are using with increasing frequency. He has authored several book chapters and more than 100 papers on this topic, and is Medical Editor of the Mayo Clinic Book of Alternative Medicine. He is a member of numerous scientific review panels and is currently collaborating on over 20 studies being conducted at Mayo Clinic, evaluating CAM therapies ranging from acupuncture to valerian. He is the medical director of Rejuvenate, the first spa at Mayo Clinic. He is also the medical director of the Well Living Lab, a collaboration between Delos and Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation, which is exploring the impact of the indoor environment on wellness. His work is at the forefront of the emerging field of integrative medicine, which combines the best of conventional medicine with the best of evidence-based complementary therapies.
Jo Smith, Ph.D.
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Jo Smith, Ph.D., is a leading massage therapy educator and researcher at the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT), in Invercargill, New Zealand. She has been involved in the New Zealand massage therapy industry since 1997, as a practitioner of massage therapy and physical therapy, and as a massage therapy educator. More recently she has been spearheading research in this field, publishing in New Zealand and internationally. She is currently the president of Massage New Zealand. Smith holds a M.Ed. (Hons) in adult education and developed and implemented the first bachelor’s degree program for massage therapy in the Southern Hemisphere. Her Ph.D. research, completed in 2010, focused on the massage culture of care and practice patterns of massage therapy within New Zealand. In addition, she has carried out research into massage therapy outcomes, massage therapy professionalization and educational issues pertinent to massage therapy. Smith currently teaches in the Bachelor of Therapeutic and Sports Massage (BTSM) program at SIT, primarily in the areas of clinical reasoning, clinical practice and research. She is recognized as an innovative teacher who instills high standards and a love of research in her students. She also co-leads the New Zealand Massage Therapy Research Center and is focused on developing a culture of massage therapy research within the BTSM, New Zealand and globally.
Registration for the 2016 International Massage Therapy Research Conference is now open. Register before April 12, 2016, to get the early bird discount. For more information, please click here.
About the Massage Therapy Foundation
The Massage Therapy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity, with a mission to advance the knowledge and practice of massage by supporting scientific research, education and community service. Learn more at massagetherapyfoundation.org.