International Evidence-Based Complementary Medicine Conference

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S P O N S O R S

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Professor Alan Bensoussan is a Professor of Chinese Medicine at the University of Western Sydney and Executive Director of the significant new National Institute of Complementary Medicine. Professor Bensoussan will discuss his involvement in controlled clinical trials of traditional Chinese treatments for IBS, dysmenorrhoea and endometriosis. In the IBS trial he developed a unique protocol that allowed for individual patient treatment.

Associate Professor Kerry Bone is on staff at the University of New England, teaching the Master of Health Science in herbal medicine and is Director of Research at MediHerb. The controversial topic of the use of complementary medicines in cancer care will be reviewed in terms of the available clinical evidence and safety information, especially in the context of concurrent medical treatment and as follow-up long-term treatments.

Dr Lesley Braun is a pharmacist and naturopath and coauthor of the important Elsevier text “Herbs and Natural supplements – an evidence based guide”. Among other involvements Dr Braun is a Research Fellow in the Department of Surgery at Monash University. Her particular expertise is on drug interactions and the must-know information will be critically reviewed.

Professor Harsharn Gill is Principal Scientist: Food and Health at the Department of Primary Industry, Victoria. He has published widely on the topic of probiotics in human health and has developed several commercial products. Professor Gill will explain the basis for using probiotics in clinical practice; review the evidence for different indications; discuss mechanisms by which probiotics influence health; and provide examples of some successful probiotic strains.

Professor Margo Halm is Director of Nursing Research/Quality at United Hospital in St Paul, Minnesota, USA. Professor Halm will present a critical review of the evidence for essential oils in managing symptoms in critically ill patients, including anxiety/stress, mood/coping and disrupted sleep and pain.

Paul Mannion is Technical Director of Health World. He has 15 years’ clinical practice as a naturopath with a current focus on research and product development. He will review the evidence on the emerging use of omega-3 fatty acid concentrates and discuss the efficacy of the clinical applications of highly concentrated fish oils.

Simon Mills is an eminent, pioneering practising herbalist and author. He established the world’s first university centre in complementary medicine and has led many UK government and EU professional and official bodies. In this final presentation of the conference he will challenge the current paradigm: the main objective of research is to help us understand what works, yet every person and healing experience is unique. The personal story is what means the most. Exciting new ways to resolve this contradiction will be explored.

Professor Alexander Panossian is Director of Scientific Projects at the Swedish Herbal Institute in Gothenburg. He is a world authority on herbal adaptogens and has pioneered most of the important research on Rhodiola. Professor Panossian will present the results of recent clinical trials of adaptogens in stress-related fatigue and will delineate new insights into their mechanism of action.

As the first woman president of the AMA, Professor Kerryn Phelps is a well-known face in conventional medicine and who is deeply involved in integrative health and runs a groundbreaking practice in Sydney. Elsevier will publish her new text on integrative medicine in 2009.

Professor Frank Rosenfeldt leads the Cardiac Surgical Research Unit at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. He will present his research aimed at improving the success of procedures such as cardiac bypass and angioplasty using nutrients including CoQ10, fish oils, magnesium orotate and antioxidants.

Associate Professor Luis Vitetta is a Principal Research Fellow at the School of Medicine, University of Queensland who has wide ranging research interests in complementary medicine. He will discuss the role of probiotic bacteria in the regulation of metabolism with implications for insulin resistance, Crohn’s disease, food allergies, gastritis, obesity and cardiovascular disease.

Dr Anne Walker, formerly at the University of Reading, UK, is unique as a well-published research scientist in complementary medicine who has formal qualifications and clinical experience in both herbal medicine and nutrition. Dr Walker will demonstrate how it is possible to provide an evidence base for the complex interventions that typify natural medicine. Insights from her research in controlled clinical trials on magnesium, hawthorn and globe artichoke will also be explored.