Homeopathy Papers

HRI Lines Up Top Homeopathic Minds for Biggest Research Conference in Decades

May  Carolyn Howgego
Written by Carolyn Howgego

Carolyn Howgego chats with Rachel Roberts, CEO of the Homeopathy Research Institute (HRI), about the upcoming international research conference, taking place in Malta June 9-11.

“I really think this is going to be one of the greatest meetings of homeopathy research minds for well over a decade,” says Rachel Roberts, CEO of the Homeopathy Research Institute (HRI), clearly excited about the upcoming international research conference, taking place in Malta (9-11 June).

Roberts continues: “The HRI conference, ‘Cutting Edge Research in Homeopathy’, is unique. Homeopathy research events are usually contained within bigger events covering homeopathy more broadly. But this one stands on its own.”

The biennial conference dedicated purely to homeopathy research is set to enjoy its biggest audience ever, with over 300 attendees.  The event attracts the top minds globally from all areas of homeopathy research and is a forum for the presentation of the latest findings.  It is considered by many to be the key event in the homeopathy research calendar worldwide.

This year the keynote speakers are four inspirational leaders in their fields.

Dr Emma Macias-Cortes, a consultant physician and researcher at Juarez of Mexico Hospital and National Homeopathic Hospital, Mexico City will present the findings of her clinical study that compares individualised homeopathic treatment and fluoxetine (aka Prozac) for moderate to severe depression in peri- and postmenopausal women.  The positive findings of this trial will be exciting to any homeopath with an interest in women’s health.

Also speaking will be Professor Michael Frass, director of the outpatients unit “Homeopathy in malignant disease” from the Medical University of Vienna, Austria. Frass, one of the biggest names in clinical research, will describe how his pragmatic randomised controlled trial suggests that the global health status and subjective wellbeing of cancer patients improves significantly when adjunctive classical homeopathic treatment is administered in addition to conventional therapy.

Professor Harald Walach, is director of a postgraduate programme on cultural sciences and complementary medicine at the Viadrina European University, Frankfurt.  He brings his wealth of clinical research experience to the field of provings and is world-renowned for delivering homeopathic studies with conventional scientific rigour. He will explain how he has established a new paradigm for homeopathic pathogenetic trials (HPTs), or provings, as well as the preconditions, potential pitfalls and the theoretical framework behind it.

Dr Stephan Baumgartner, a senior research scientist at the Institute of Integrative Medicine, University of Witten/Herdecke in Germany, is regarded as the leading, world-expert on basic science in homeopathy.  He will discuss highlights from the considerable progress basic research in homeopathy has made in the last 20 years and concludes that this progress gives cause for the expectation of substantial scientific advance with regards to homeopathy’s mode of action.

Roberts is as proud of the event she has created with Dr Alex Tournier, executive director of HRI, as she is of the charity itself.  Dr Tournier founded HRI in 2009 after recognising the need for an organization dedicated to high-quality scientific research into homeopathy.

The diversity of the conference programme reflects HRI’s thirst for exploration around a wide range of subjects, from striving to uncover the mechanism of action of homeopathic medicines to conducting clinical research using the most rigorous methods.

HRI has received over 100 abstracts for consideration for inclusion in the 2017 programme.  These then go through a rigorous peer-review process to ensure that the highest quality research is included and a diversity of topics are represented.  HRI’s commitment to disseminating scientific results to a broader audience outside traditional academic circles is evident in the content of the final two-and-a-half-day programme.

Roberts goes on: “We exist to support and inform all homeopathy stakeholders, and practising homeopaths are a priority.  The nub of it is, HRI’s existence may prove invaluable in progressing the mainstream acceptance of homeopathy and therefore facilitating growth in patient numbers at grassroots level – but we can’t exist without grassroots support.”

The conference, described as “seminal” by Professor Paolo Bellavite, of the University of Verona and a member of HRI’s Scientific Advisory Committee, offers homeopaths the chance to develop their understanding of those vital questions: How does it work? What can it treat? Where is the evidence?

“We try to make the conference as accessible as possible,” Roberts adds.  “We chose the Radisson Blu as a venue so we can deliver an exceptional event, but still be close to less expensive hotels nearby – and a conference ticket itself is just a few hundred pounds.” (Conference fee £420. Student discount rate £290).

An impressive and unique addition to the global homeopathy calendar, the event is designed to act as a springboard for further enquiry. Tournier sums up the central purpose of the conference: “It will be the vehicle for science to move forward and often it isn’t the talks themselves which generate the most output, but the social interactions. Here people will exchange their passions and return to their labs and practices with more inspiration, expertise and energy – and importantly with the connections to solve their problems.”

To book your ticket and hotel accommodation, either at the Radisson at a discounted rate or nearby, visit www.HRIMalta2017.org/register

 Malta

About the author

Carolyn Howgego

HRI is an innovative international charity created to address the need for high quality scientific research in homeopathy. The charity was founded by physicist, Dr Alexander Tournier, who previously worked as an independent researcher for Cancer Research UK, conducting interdisciplinary research at the boundaries between mathematics, physics and biology.

2 Comments

  • am here Dr. Rizwan Yaseen, serving for homeopathy and linked with this field for last 17 years experience. My father Dr. Muhammad Yaseen, served 40 years of his life for homeopathy. My specialization is on liver as I did research work on the topic of “rehabilitation of human body through liver”. During my practice I treated hundreds of cases with digestive troubles especially associated to liver. As I think liver is an organ in human body which should to be standardized otherwise complications may exceed.

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