Research at the New England School of Acupuncture

NESA Research Faculty and Staff

Peter Wayne, PhD: Director of Research
Dr. Wayne is founding director of faculty research at NESA. He is an adjunct faculty assistant professor at Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professionals and director of the Tree of Life Tai Chi Center. He received his PhD in biology from Harvard University and spent an additional nine years conducting research on the topics of evolutionary ecology, plant physiology and the impact of global climate change on public health. Dr. Wayne is currently the principal investigator of the NIH-funded NESA Acupuncture Research Collaborative, and principal or co-investigator on several acupuncture, tai chi, and CAM-related studies. He has served as a panelist to review NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine grants and he is a Board Member of the Society for Acupuncture Research. Dr. Wayne has more than 25 years of training experience in the oriental arts of tai chi and qigong, and is a nationally recognized teacher of these practices. NIH Biosketch

Lisa Conboy, ScD: Research Faculty
Dr. Conboy is a research faculty member at NESA and a research associate at Harvard Medical School 's Osher Institute. Dr. Conboy received her doctorate in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health. As part of the NESA Acupuncture Research Collaborative , Dr. Conboy is a co-leader for a methodological study entitled Developing a Traditional East Asian Medical Structured Instrument (TEAMSI) and co-investigator on a clinical trial entitled Japanese-Style Acupuncture for Adolescent Endometriosis-Related Pain . She currently teaches the research methods course for NESA students along with Dr. Kerr and has taught research methodology at the Harvard School of Public Health, and the University of Massachusetts , Boston . Dr. Conboy is also the coordinator of the Harvard Osher Institute Placebo Working Group, and she is project director for a grant which considers the efficacy of acupuncture for the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. NIH Biosketch

Jacqueline Savetsky German, MPH, LicAc: Project Coordinator
Jacqueline is the Project Coordinator of the NESA Acupuncture Research Collaborative's Project 2 entitled Japanese-Style Acupuncture for the Treatment of Endometriosis-Associated Pelvic Pain in Adolescents. She received her Masters Degree in Public Health from Boston University in 1997 and her Masters degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in 2005. She has worked in clinical research since 1995 on various projects involving a wide range of topics including substance abuse, HIV, mental health, and alternative medicine. Jacqueline maintains a private acupuncture practice in Newton, MA.

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Ted Kaptchuk, OMD: Research Faculty
Dr. Kaptchuk is Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and director for Complementary Specialties at the Osher Institute, Harvard Medical School, and was appointed a 2005 NESA visiting scholar. Dr. Kaptchuk studied Chinese medicine at the Macao Institute of Chinese Medicine and has served on advisory bodies for the NIH and the FDA. He is the author of The Web That Has No Weaver, in use as a NESA textbook, and over 100 scholarly and scientific papers. As part of the NESA Acupuncture Research Collaborative, Dr. Kaptchuk serves as co-leader with Rosa Schnyer, LicAc and Lisa Conboy, PhD on the methodological study entitled Developing a Traditional East Asian Medical Structured Instrument (TEAMSI). He also served as primary investigator on the acupuncture for repetitive stress injuries trial and as co-investigator on the Tai Chi for vestibulopathic balance disorders and the acupuncture for chronic stroke symptoms trials. NIH Biosketch

Catherine Kerr, PhD: Research Faculty
Dr. Kerr is a research faculty member at NESA, an instructor at the Department of Social Medicine at the Harvard Medical School , and a research associate at Harvard Medical School 's Osher Institute. Her expertise is in qualitative research associated with CAM trials. As part of the NESA Acupuncture Research Collaborative, Dr. Kerr is co-leader of the clinical trial entitled Japanese-Style Acupuncture for Adolescent Endometriosis-Related Pain , and co-investigator on the methodological study entitled Developing a Traditional East Asian Medical Structured Instrument (TEAMSI). Additionally, she is a co-investigator on the NIH funded studies Evaluating Acupuncture and Amitriptyline for the Treatment of Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSI's) to the Arm and a grant that examines placebo phenomena related to the use of acupuncture. Dr. Kerr is also collaborating with Dana Farber Cancer Institute on a trial of qigong for cancer patients. NIH Biosketch

Della Lawhon, MAOM , MA , Lic.Ac. : Kelly Library Director and Information Specialist
Ms. Lawhon is director of NESA's Kelly Library and serves as Research Information Specialist. She received her MA in American Studies and History from George Washington University . Ms. Lawhon serves as information specialist and Oriental Medicine (OM) consultant for the Tufts Program in Evidence-Based Complimentary and Alternative Medicine study and as part of the NESA Acupuncture Research Collaborative, she will develop and administer a training program for faculty and students centered around information literacy. She is currently working on a project evaluating limitations of current medical subject headings (MeSH) system for OM, and an OM-biomedical thesaurus. Ms. Lawhon is also a co-founder and facilitator of NEWTT, and maintains a private OM practice in Hyde Park, MA. NIH Biosketch

Weidong Lu , MB, MPH, LicAc: Chair, Chinese Herbal Medicine Department, Research Faculty
Dr. Lu is a research faculty member at NESA, chairman of NESA's Chinese Herbal Medicine Department, and a researcher and staff acupuncturist at Dana Farber Cancer Institute's Zakim Center. Dr. Lu received his medical degree (MB) from Zhejiang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 1983 and his MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. As part of the NESA Acupuncture Research Collaborative, he is a co-leader on the clinical trial entitled TCM Acupuncture for Chemotherapy-Induced Neutropenia. He is also co-investigator of a NIH-funded trial evaluating the effects of acupuncture on quality of life in late-stage cancer patients, and has served as a consultant to Harvard Medical School 's Osher Institute for numerous studies. NIH Biosketch.

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Barbara Marcel , PhD, RN: Faculty
Dr. Marcel teaches Introduction to Psychology at NESA, and is chair of the NESA Institutional Review Board (IRB). Dr. Marcel received her doctoral degree in experimental psychology from Northeastern University. In the last 15 years she has taught psychology, research methodology and advanced behavioral science at Regis College. She was appointed to the faculty of the Harvard Medical School as a clinical and research fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at McLean Hospital, where she was a research associate and co-investigator, designing and conducting research on depression and dysmorphophobia. She served as consultant to the Boston Mental Health Foundation for 4 years and also spent several years as a research associate at Massachusetts General Hospital conducting research on Alzheimer's disease.

Barbara Parton , RN, LicAc: Research Associate
Ms. Parton received a BSN from the University of Vermont in 1977. She worked in home and hospice care for 16 years, including Clinical Director for the Hospice of Cambridge and for Trinity Hospice in Boston before earning a Master's Degree from the New England School of Acupuncture. She is the past Dean of Clinical Education at NESA and is an active member of the Research Committee. She served as NESA's Clinical Research Coordinator for the Acupuncture for Chronic Stroke Symptoms and is currently involved as a Research Assistant in the Japanese-Style Acupuncture for the Treatment of Endometriosis-Related Pelvic Pain study. Barbara maintains a private practice in Cambridge, MA and is on the Board of Directors of the Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Society of MA.

Rosa Schnyer, DiplAc, LicAc: Research Faculty
Ms. Schnyer is a research faculty member and research associate at Harvard Medical School 's Osher Institute. She received her acupuncture training at Tri-State College of Acupuncture, and is a consultant at University of Arizona and Stanford University on several acupuncture related grants. As part of the NESA Acupuncture Research Collaborative, Ms. Schnyer is a co-leader on a methodological study entitled Developing a Traditional East Asian Medical Structured Instrument (TEAMSI) and co-investigator on a clinical trial entitled Japanese-Style Acupuncture for Adolescent Endometriosis-Related Pain . She has also served as co-investigator or consultant to numerous NIH and privately funded studies including trials investigating the efficacy of acupuncture for depression in pregnant women, repetitive stress injuries, chronic stroke symptoms, and a grant that examines placebo phenomena related to the use of acupuncture. She leads seminars on treating mood and anxiety disorders with acupuncture and Chinese herbs in NESA's Continuing Education program. Ms. Schnyer is a board member for the Society for Acupuncture Research and coordinator of the Acupuncture Methodology Working Group at Harvard Medical School 's Osher Institute. NIH Biosketch

Monica Shields, MAc, LicAc : Research Assistant
Ms. Shields is a Research Assistant for the NESA Acupuncture Research Collaborative's Project 2 entitled Japanese-Style Acupuncture for the Treatment of Endometriosis-Associated Chronic Pelvic Pain in Adolescents. She also provides support for grants administration and data management at the NESA Research Center. Monica received her BS in biology from Bowdoin College in 1998 and received a Masters in Acupuncture degree from the New England School of Acupuncture in August 2005.

William B. Stason, MD, MSci
Dr. Stason is an internist, cardiologist, and epidemiologist who is an expert in health policy analysis, technology assessment, and health services research. He received a BS from the University of Michigan, an MD from Harvard Medical School, and a MSci in epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. At Harvard and the New England School of Acupuncture, Dr. Stason is deeply involved in Complementary and Alternative Medicine research. At the New England School of Acupuncture, he served as a co-principal investigator on a study examining the effects of acupuncture in patients with hemiparesis as a result of stroke. At the Osher Institute of Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, he is evaluating placebo effects and the benefits of acupuncture in patients with arm pain due to repetitive strain injury and in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. NIH Biosketch.

Meredith St. John, MAc, DiplAc : Research Faculty
Ms. St. John is an accomplished acupuncturist and herbalist. She has maintained a private practice in Oriental medicine for over ten years and worked in several integrative health care settings with other health care providers. An Assistant Professor at New England School of Acupuncture, she also serves on the Board of Trustees. Ms. St. John has authored an educational web site on acupuncture and lectured widely both for medical professionals and the public. In 1996 she received her Masters in Acupuncture and was licensed by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine and board certified in acupuncture by the National Commission for the Certification of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Chicago. Ms. St. John plays a leadership role in faculty educational activities associated with the NESA Acupuncture Research Collaborative. She is currently serving as co-facilitator for the NESA faculty course entitled, �How to Write a Publishable Case Report�.

Peter Valaskatgis, MAc, LicAc : Faculty, Chair, Chinese Acupuncture Studies Department
Mr. Valaskatgis has been a faculty member at NESA for more than twenty years and chaired the Chinese Acupuncture Studies Department from 1993 to 2005. After graduating from NESA in 1977, and the International College of Oriental Medicine in Sussex, England in 1979, he completed advanced studies at the Nanjing College of TCM, China, in 1982. Mr. Valasketgis has served as NESA's lead study consultant for the Stop Hypertension with Acupuncture Research Program (SHARP) trial and consulted on the protocol design for the Acupuncture for Chronic Stroke Symptoms study. He is currently a co-investigator for the Acupuncture Treatment for Menopausal Hot Flashes trial taking place at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He is an active member of NESA's Research Committee and served 10 years as a member of the Massachusetts Committee on Acupuncture which oversees state licensing. Mr. Valaskatgis currently maintains a private practice in Newbury, MA . NIH Biosketch

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NESA's Research Committee:

Peter Wayne , PhD, Director of Research, Chair

Evelyn Fowler, MA, MAc, LicAc, President

Barbara Parton , RN, LicAc, Research Associate

Weidong Lu , MB , MPH, LicAc, Chair, Chinese Herbal Medicine Department

Amy Hull, MEd, MAOM, LicAc, Academic Dean

Diane Iuliano , MAc, LicAc, Co-chair, Japanese Acupuncture Studies Department

Peter Valaskatgis, MAc, LicAc, Chair, Chinese Acupuncture Studies Department

William Stason, MD

Lisa Conboy, ScD, Research Faculty

Catherine Kerr, PhD, Research Faculty