The 2nd Emirates Osteopathic Conference will host a range of keynote presentations from well-known and respected researchers, clinicians, educators and policy makers. We have secured a number of speakers and will have the list, biographies and abstracts for the presentations available soon.
Caroline Kalsæg Fjeldstrøm, BSc, DO, is an osteopath whose interests include the integration of osteopathic principles, practices and techniques into effective patient management. She is in private practice in Norway. She is also one of the Academic Directors of the Linderbergs Academy in Munich, Germany, a postgraduate teaching institution for osteopaths and osteopathic physicians. She has helped teach postgraduate courses in the United States, Dubai, Italy, Germany and England, and she is an invited speaker to osteopathic conferences, including Warsaw, Poland. She has contributed to writing book chapters for osteopathic textbooks.
Email: contact@emiratesosteopathicconference.com
Charles Hunt, Chair – Osteopathic International Alliance Board, began his career with the University College of Osteopathy in 1990 as a clinical tutor. Prior to becoming Principal (now Vice Chancellor) in May 2006, Charles held the post of Vice Principal (Professional) and was previously Head of Clinical Practice. He has edited and advised on a number of osteopathy-related publications and is a regular contact for the promotion of osteopathy in the media. Charles also worked in private practice as an osteopath from 1989-2011. He is currently chair of the Osteopathic International Alliance (OIA) Board and has been previous chair of the Council for Osteopathic Educational Institutions (COEI) and sits on QAA’s Advisory Committee for Degree Awarding Powers (ACDAP).
Email: contact@emiratesosteopathicconference.com
Chiara Arienti is an Osteopath, Researcher in Cochrane Rehabilitation Field and General Secretary of the Italian Register of Osteopaths. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Osteopathy from University of Wales in 2002 and is currently pursuing her PhD in Cochrane Rehabilitation at University of Study of Brescia, Italy. She also does clinical and research work at Scientific Insititute of Osteopathic Medicine in Milan, Italy.
Email: contact@emiratesosteopathicconference.com
Christian Fossum, DO, Associate Professor – University College Kristiania, is an osteopath, academic and researcher whose interests include osteopathic theory and methods and their application in the management of patients. He was previously the Vice Principal of the European School of Osteopathy (Maidstone, UK); Assistant Professor, Department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine at the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine and Associate Director, A T Still Research Institute, A T Still University of Health Sciences, Kirksville, Missouri. He is currently an Associate Professor at the University College Kristiania, Oslo, Norway. He has lectured at courses and conferences in Europe, North America and Asia for many years, and has authored numerous book chapters and articles on osteopathic principles and practice.
Email: contact@emiratesosteopathicconference.com
Dr Francesco Cerritelli, Chair – COME Collaboration, is an osteopath DO with broad interests in osteopathic and touch research, neuroscience and health science focusing on interdisciplinary aspects of evidence based medicine. Francesco has published several scientific papers in this field. In 2008, he founded the European Institute for Evidence Based Osteopathic Medicine (EBOM), a non-profit research association, then transformed it into a not-for-profit foundation named COME Collaboration in 2014. Between 2009 and 2014, Francesco was appointed head of research at AIOT and was assigned to teach neuroscience in the same institution. In 2011, Francesco attended the Master in Public Health at Imperial College London and in 2018 obtained a PhD in Neuroscience at University of Chieti-Pescara focusing on fMRI and the interoceptive aspect of osteopathy. Francesco has received several international prizes in relation to the scientific activities conducted.
Email: contact@emiratesosteopathicconference.com
Haidar Ramadan
BSc Osteopathic Medicine, MSc by Research in Health Science (Osteopathy), Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Haidar Ramadan, Adult Safeguarding Lead – Central London Community Health NHS Trust, has been practising osteopathy since 2001 in the UK at National Health Service (NHS). He has also worked as a senior musculoskeletal (MSK) osteopath at Chelsea Westminster Hospital-MSK Community Services, and eventually became the team lead there, managing younger people with physical disabilities in central London.
Haidar has extensive knowledge and experience in osteopathic education, having been a senior lecturer and course leader at Oxford Brookes University and then head of practical skills for all pre-registration programmes at the University College of Osteopathy. Haidar has been a non-executive council member of the General Osteopathic Council for the last six years and takes part in various committees to fulfill its statutory duties to regulate standards of osteopathic care and education in the UK. His clinical interests include the management of chronic MSK conditions in a community setting.
Email: contact@emiratesosteopathicconference.com
Hanna Tómasdóttir, Chair – Danish National Osteopathic Organisation, is an Icelandic born Dane, Hanna was originally trained as a physiotherapist in 1997, before switching professions, and completing her DO degree in Osteopathy in 2006. In 2017, she graduated with a Master’s degree in Positive Psychology.
Besides Hanna’s osteopathic practice in Copenhagen, Q klinik, she works as a health columnist for the biggest weekly women’s magazine in Denmark. Hanna is also the Chair of the Danish national osteopathic organisation, Danske Osteopater, and led their political lobbying campaign for regulation. This was achieved on 1 July 2018, when Denmark officially recognised osteopathy. When FORE and EFO merged, in Athens this year, Hanna was voted in as a Board member of the new European organisation, EFFO. Hanna is positive, hard working, and passionate about regulation and recognition of the Osteopathic profession.
Email: contact@emiratesosteopathicconference.com
Jorge Esteves is an osteopath practising in Dubai. He is an Honorary Professor at the University College of Osteopathy in London and an Associate Professor at Instituto Piaget in Portugal, where he is the Scientific Coordinator for the Bachelor’s degree in Osteopathy. Previously, he served as the Head of Research at the British School of Osteopathy (BSO) in London, as a non-executive council member of the UK’s General Osteopathic Council, and osteopathy subject reviewer for the United Kingdom’s Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA); he was also a Senior Lecturer in Osteopathy at Oxford Brookes University where he was instrumental in the development and implementation of the university osteopathic provision.
In 2011, Dr Esteves completed his PhD at Oxford Brookes University. His research focused on examining diagnostic palpation in osteopathy and developing neurocognitive models of expertise. He is interested in investigating the effects of touch and pain on body and mind, particularly, how pain affects the way in which people process their emotions; how pain affects the sense of the self; and what is the role of touch in the modulation of pain, sense of the self and emotional processing. Apart from his academic work at Institute Piaget and the University College of Osteopathy, Dr Esteves is also an Associate Editor for the International Journal for Osteopathic Medicine, member of the Board of Directors of the Collaboration for Osteopathic Medicine Research, collaborates in a number of research projects and lectures and assesses at various schools worldwide.
Email: jorge@osteopathydubai.com
Dr Kendi Hensel received her DO from Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. After completing a traditional rotating internship in Oklahoma City, she moved to the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine, and was one of the first graduates from a combined Family Practice and Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine residencies. After achieving board certification in both specialties, she returned to her native Texas in 2004 to join the faculty of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. She has worked as an investigator and treatment provider on several clinical research studies on OMM. In 2006, she became the first DO to receive a K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award from the NIH-NCCAM. This project studied the effects of OMM on pregnant women. Dr Hensel received her PhD in OMM Clinical Research and Education in 2009 from UNTHSC-Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. She is currently involved in clinical, educational and research activities at TCOM, and in national efforts to improve the evidence base and utilization of OMT in patient care. She currently serves as Chair of AACOM’s Educational Council on Osteopathic Principles, and as the AAO’s President Elect.
Email: contact@emiratesosteopathicconference.com
Marc Gauthier
President, Ostéopathie Québec
After practising physiotherapy for 10 years, Marc pursued osteopathy studies and graduated in 2011. His sensitivity in sports and his determination led him to work with high performance athletes in Montreal (including professional football) and to cover, as an osteopath, the Montreal International Marathon. He also gave first aid classes to hockey instructors (FQHG).
Marc Gauthier taught osteopathy for 17 years at the Osteopathic College of Montreal.
Since 2014, he is the President of Ostéopathie Québec, the largest association of osteopaths in Quebec and Canada. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Federation of Osteopaths (CFO).
As President of Ostéopathie Québec, he is deeply involved on the road to osteopathy regulation in Québec. He is involved in many political meetings with the government, opposition parties and government authorities. He also periodically informs Ostéopathie Québec members of the evolution of osteopathy regulation.
Email: contact@emiratesosteopathicconference.com
Marika Jevbratt
Osteopath/President European Federation and Forum for Osteopathy
Marika first found osteopathy in England where she lived for 17 years. She started her Osteopathic training at the European School of Osteopathy (ESO). Marika then moved back to Sweden and graduated from the Scandinavian School of Osteopathy in Gothenburg in 1998.
After graduation she attended several postgraduate courses with John Wernham, between 2004-2007, and at John Wernham College of Classical Osteopathy (JWCCO) and the Institute of Classical Osteopathy (ICO) between 2008-2012. Marika completed her MSc in Osteopathy in 2015.
Besides being very passionate about osteopathy, spreading the history and teachings of Dr Andrew Taylor Still, JM Littlejohn and John Wernham, Marika has a burning passion to spread the knowledge and acceptance of osteopathy in Europe and worldwide.
The legislation and acceptance of osteopathy across Europe, plays a very important part as does research, and actually preserving osteopathy across the world.
Marika was very much involved with the CEN process in Europe and is now working as a consultant to the Austrian Standard to certify the European Osteopathic Schools according to the CEN standard of 2015.
Email: contact@emiratesosteopathicconference.com
Maurice Cheng
Chief Executive, The Institute of Osteopathy
Maurice was appointed as CEO of the Institute of Osteopathy (formerly the British Osteopathic Association) in 2013, with a background in strategic research and marketing consultancy. Since 2000 he has specialised in association management for professional bodies, as Director of Member Services for the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, and Chief Executive of the Institute of Healthcare Management, the Institute of Payroll Professionals, and the Association of Costs Lawyers. He is a non executive at present on the Boards of North London YMCA, the Research Council for Complementary Medicine, and the National Council for Osteopathic Research (NCOR).
Maurice believes strongly in the benefits that osteopathy can bring to public health, and a strong advocate in the need for the profession across the world to collaborate in health transformation.
Email: contact@emiratesosteopathicconference.com
Paul Bell
Osteopath/Lecturer/Clinical Director
Paul is a UK registered osteopath with over 20 years clinical experience. He has worked as part of a medical team in professional football and lectured on injury treatment and rehabilitation in the UK and Asia. Paul set up the first clinic based 3D Markerless movement analysis suite in Singapore with the aim of combining research level motion analysis with injury management and rehabilitation. He is currently in the final stages of completing a professional doctorate in health at the University of Bath (UK) with a specific focus on identifying injury predictive markers and kinematic compensatory mechanisms following injury.
Email: paul@osteopathydubai.com
Oliver Thomson
Associate Professor at University College of Osteopathy
Dr Oliver Thomson is a practising osteopath and Associate Professor at the University College of Osteopathy, London, where he leads the research teaching for the undergraduate and postgraduate osteopathy programmes. Oliver completed his PhD in osteopathy at the University of Brighton, Clinical Research Centre for Health Professions, where he employed constructivist grounded theory to develop an explanatory theory of the clinical decision-making and therapeutic approaches of osteopaths in the UK. His research interests include: evidence based practice, clinical decision-making and reasoning, professional identity, practitioner and patients’ back pain beliefs, qualitative and grounded theory research. He has published extensively in these areas. He supervises undergraduate, MSc and doctoral students and has examined PhD students internationally. He regularly holds lectures, seminars and workshops on his research and clinical interests for health and manual therapy professionals.
Oliver is an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine and is on the International Advisory Board for Manual Therapy Journal.
Email: contact@emiratesosteopathicconference.com
Phil Austin
Research Fellow/Osteopath
Phil Austin is a UK-trained osteopath and researcher who holds a PhD in pain medicine. His research interests include the assessment of endogenous pain modulation, the effect of virtual reality on neuropathic pain severity and painful chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathies. Phil’s clinical areas of interest include the effects of work-related stress on the severity and duration of musculoskeletal pain in computer-workers. Phil also works as an adjunct tutor for the MSc in Clinical Management of Pain at the University of Edinburgh and University of Sydney while also being involved in various areas of palliative care research at Greenwich Hospital in Sydney.
Email: contact@emiratesosteopathicconference.com
Ronald R Burns
AOA board-certified family physician
An AOA board-certified family physician, Dr Burns serves on the board of the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners and is a member of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians. He has also served the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association (FOMA) in many capacities, including being president from 2004-2005.
Dr Burns has been an active member of the American Osteopathic Association Board of Trustees since 2007. He served as chair of the Department of Business Affairs and received FOMA’s Physician of the Year award in 2002, as well as its Distinguished Service Award in 2007.
Dr Burns completed his osteopathic medicine degree from what is now the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens. Following completion of his degree, he completed his postdoctoral medical training at the Doctors Hospital of Stark County in Massillon, Ohio, and the Florida Hospital – East Orlando.
Email: contact@emiratesosteopathicconference.com
Tim Walker
Chief Executive and Registrar of the General Osteopathic Council
Tim Walker has been Chief Executive and Registrar of the General Osteopathic Council since autumn 2010. Prior to GOsC, he worked for the General Medical Council, also as a political consultant and in regulatory affairs at Turner Broadcasting UK, the Cabinet Office, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
In his time at the GOsC he has sought to develop an approach to regulation based on positive engagement with osteopaths, and to work in collaboration with the osteopathic profession in the UK and abroad. He initiated the creation of the UK’s Osteopathic Development Group and played a key role in drafting pan-European standards for osteopathic healthcare. He also served for three years as a Board member of the Osteopathic International Alliance.
Tim is Chair of two charities: the National Council for Osteopathic Research and Kingsgate Workshops Trust, an artists’ studio provider and community arts project. He is a member of the Board of the Osteopathic Foundation, a UK charitable endowment fund supporting education, research and development projects in osteopathy. He is currently studying for a Master’s degree in Systems Thinking with the Open University.
Email: contact@emiratesosteopathicconference.com
Valentine Carlile
Advisor, Register of Italian Osteopaths
Valentine Carlile, Advisor – Register of Italian Osteopaths (ROI), completed her DO degree at ISO (Istituto Superiore Di Osteopatia) in Milan (Italy), and BSc in Osteopathy at University of Wales (UK), between 1997-2002. She has a private practice as a DO and is a founding member of the American Academy of Paediatric Osteopathy.
She is also a member of the board of directors at ROI, as Advisor NW Area, and delegate at Forum for Osteopathic Regulation in Europe (FORE), European Federation of Osteopaths (EFO) and Osteopathic International Alliance (OIA).
Email: contact@emiratesosteopathicconference.com
William Burke
DO, OUHCOM Dean, Trustee of American Osteopathic Association
Dr William Burke is a primary care physician with more than two decades of experience in improving the education of future primary care physicians, both in the United States and abroad. In recognition of his longtime commitment to medical education, he was named the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians’ 2016 Educator of the Year.
A 1988 graduate of the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, who is board-certified in family medicine and osteopathic manipulative medicine, Dr Burke was chosen in 2013 as the first dean of the Heritage College, Dublin, which opened the following year. Before that, he served as Vice President of medical education at OhioHealth Doctors Hospital in Columbus. OhioHealth is the preeminent education partner for the Heritage College, Dublin.
Dr Burke is on the board of trustees of the American Osteopathic Association, the national professional organisation for osteopathic physicians. In his position as an AOA trustee, he has served as the chair of its departments of Educational Affairs, Governmental Affairs, and Research and Development, as well as its Bureau of Communications and Committee on AOA Governance and Organisational Structure.
He is a founding director of the International Primary Care Educational Alliance; has served as chair-elect of the Osteopathic International Alliance; and is past president of both the Ohio State Society of American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians and Columbus Academy of Osteopathic Medicine. In September 2018, he begins a two-year term as chair of the Osteopathic International Alliance.
In 2016, the government of China’s Sichuan province honoured Dr Burke with the Tianfu Friendship Award, given annually to persons from other countries who have made outstanding contributions to Sichuan’s economic and social development. He was recognised for his service as team leader of the IPCEA, which is leading the effort by members of the osteopathic medical profession to train more Chinese physicians in primary care.
Dr Burke has made many trips to China, including a visit in 2008 in which he and his wife, Debbie, provided emergency relief after an earthquake that killed thousands of people in Sichuan province. He has also organized a program in which a 20-member delegation of physicians and administrators from Sichuan spends three weeks training in the United States every two years, to observe first-hand how medical students and family medicine residents are prepared and trained here.
Email: contact@emiratesosteopathicconference.com
Yannick Huard
Osteopathy DO/Senior Lecturer
Dr Yannick Huard has a PhD and MSc in Biomechanics from University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne (France), and a BSc in Education Sciences from University of Rouen (France).
He is the Treasurer of the National Federation of Higher Education in Osteopathy (France) and a guest lecturer at the University College of Osteopathy (UK). Since September 2017, he has been serving as the Educational Coordinator and Senior Lecturer at IdHEO Nantes in France and Tutor in clinic (internal and external) at Nantes University Hospital.
Previously, Dr Yannick was the Head of the Academic Department and Clinical Department at ESO-Paris and an Assessor at Istituto Superiore di Osteopatia, Milano, Italy). He was also the Co-editor of the Training Repository in Osteopathy, “Becoming Osteopath – Acts competently” (National Standard for Education in Osteopathy), and has served as a lecturer in Nord, France and Murcia, Spain.
Email: contact@emiratesosteopathicconference.com