SALUT, an occasional newsletter, will bring news and results of the Samueli Institute for Information Biology to colleagues and friends who share our interests in the frontiers of the science of healing.  The newsletter will highlight findings from research projects we are funding, describe happenings at the Institute and keep you abreast of our scientific agenda as it develops and expands.

Samueli Institute – 2001-2003

Founded in July 2001, the Samueli Institute for Information Biology is a non-profit, non-affiliated medical research organization supporting the scientific investigation of healing processes with information biology, and its application in health and disease.  In these two years, the Samueli Institute has funded  41 scientific research projects through a network of laboratory programs around the world.  It has also supported ten conferences and published five proceedings, published two books,  and developed a new program to study the Military Applications of Complementary and Alternative Medicine called MIL CAM.  We invite you to visit our web site, www.siib.org, for more details on any of these activities.

Laurance S. Rockefeller Partnership

The Samueli Institute is pleased to announce a partnership with the Laurance S. Rockefeller (LSR) Fund to establish the Rockefeller-Samueli Center for Research in Mind-Body Energy.  One of the many priorities of Laurance Rockefeller’s remarkable career as a philanthropist and community leader has been to encourage the exploration of consciousness and healing with a particular emphasis on bioenergy.  The Center has now funded its first five research projects in the field of mind-body energy medicine.

First American Samueli Symposium

Definitions and Standards in Healing Research

On January 10-12, 2003, thirty-five leading scientists met to discuss scientific methodology for research in the fields of healing energy, healing intention, and healing relationships.  The purpose was to create generic research protocols which would result in consistent, complete and uniform studies in these areas. The results of such experiments would be more likely to be accepted for publication in leading medical journals.  The recommendations, guidelines and checklists are contained in the eight manuscripts published as a supplement to the May issue of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine.  

Peer Reviewed Publications

A number of articles have emanated from the Samueli Institute team since its inception, and these are listed on the webpage. Some of the ones published over the past several months and available through these links include:

Walach H, Jonas W.B., Lewith GT. The role of outcomes research in evaluating complementary and alternative medicine. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine  2002;8:88-95                  PDF Link

Jonas, W.B. Policy, the public, and priorities in alternative medicine research. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 2002; 583:29-43.      PDF Link                                          

Jonas, W.B., Crawford, C., Science and spiritual healing: A critical review of spiritual healing, energy medicine, and intentionality.  Alternative Therapies. 2003; 9:56-61                                  PDF Link

Jonas, W.B., Kaptchuk, T., Linde, K. A critical overview of homeopathy. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2003; 138: 393-399.     Web Link

Jonas, W.B., Chez, R., The Role and Importance of definitions and standards in healing research, Alternative Therapies, 2003; 9,3:A5-9   PDF Link

Walach, H., Naumann, J., Mutter, J. & Daschner, F. 2003: No difference between self-reportedly amalgam sensitives and non-sensitives? Listen carefully to the data. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 206:1-3.

Wackermann, J., Seiter, C., Keibel, H. & Walach, H. 2003: Correlations between brain electrical activities of two spatially separated human subjects. Neuroscience Letters 336:60-64

Keating, A., Chez, R., Ginger syrup as an antiemetic in early pregnancy, Alternative Therapies 2002; 8:89-91
                                                      

Growing the Samueli Team

Three new staff recently joined the Samueli Institute, bringing the total number to nine, spanning the offices of the Institute in Virginia, California, and Germany. 

Christine Goertz, D.C., Ph.D., Director of Clinical Epidemiology is Principal Investigator of the Practice Outcomes Documentation System (PODS), a project designed to conduct rigorous clinical investigations of worldwide complementary and traditional practices.  Christine received her Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree from Northwestern Health Sciences University and her Ph.D. in Health Services Research and Policy from the University of Minnesota, and spent three years as Program Officer at the Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health.

John A. Ives, Ph.D. is the Program Manager for the East Coast Office and Director for the Neuroprotection Project. His current research is on the neuroprotection provided by ultra low dose glutamate and arnica in an animal stroke model.  John received his Ph.D. in Biology from Georgetown University where he was also an Associate Research Professor.  Dr. Ives was later a Research Scientist for the Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI) in Bethesda, Maryland.  He also founded and was President of a private company developing natural solutions for water treatment

Thomas Moebus, the Director of Advancement, has more than twenty years experience in top tier research universities, most recently at UC Irvine, where he was Vice Chancellor and MIT, where he was Director of Corporate Relations.  An MIT graduate, Tom’s role is to build a partnership and development program to expand the scope of the Institute.