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Holistic Health Research

Foundation of Canada
Delivering objectivity to the discipline of complementary medicine.
By Alarica Fernandes
Photography By Dean Sanderson

K eren Brown, Executive Director of the Holistic Health Research Foundation of Canada, excitedly
described for us the many research and education initiatives the foundation has spearheaded over their
five-year existence. Holistic Health Research is a national registered charitable organization dedicated to
improving the health, wellness and quality of life of all Canadians, by advancing the scientific understanding of
complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The foundation funds high calibre, multidisciplinary research
in complementary therapies conducted at academic institutions across the country, and organizes education
events and programs for conventional and complementary health professionals, as well as the general public,
regarding the safe and effective use of evidence-informed complementary healthcare.

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Holistic Health Research defines holistic healthcare as “the
art and science of healing which embraces the integrated
role of body, mind and spirit.” The foundation embraces the
concept of seeking underlying cause of illness, as opposed
to only managing symptoms. Individuals are encouraged to
educate themselves about how best to protect and enhance
their own health, to share in their own healthcare decision-
making, and to be active participants in the healing process.
The vision of Holistic Health Research is to champion
the transformation of healthcare in Canada to emphasize
prevention, holism and integration. In collaboration with
other like-minded individuals and organizations, the
foundation ultimately intends to shape Canadian healthcare
in four fundamental ways:
• By playing a significant role in policy changes that lead to
the integration of effective complementary therapies with
conventional medicine in clinical practice.
• By encouraging and providing tools for the teaching of
evidence-based complementary medicine as an integral
component of undergraduate and continuing medical
education.
• By advocating for appropriate regulation and funding
of effective integrative services and therapies through
provincial health care plans.
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• By highlighting Canada as an international leader in
designing, delivering and translating clinical research in
complementary and integrative therapies.
Holistic Health Research has established several research
funding initiatives since it launched in late 2004. Research
in the field of complementary medicine is beginning to
increase significantly, and the Foundation is excited to
contribute to this growing body of knowledge. Because
some existing CAM research has been criticized for failing
to take into account the real world practice of the therapies
being investigated, the foundation’s funding philosophy
encourages multidisdiplinary research teams combining the
expertise of experienced CAM practitioners with the skills
of exceptional researchers in major academic institutions.
As a young organization, the foundation currently focuses
on granting funds for smaller pilot projects – promising
results from those projects can then be used by researchers
to seek funding for larger scale trials from funding agencies
such as CIHR. All projects are peer reviewed by a panel of
reviewers with expertise in research design, as well as the
modalities being studied.
Holistic Health Research has established a Massage
Therapy Research Fund in partnership with the College

of Massage Therapists of Ontario, and with support from
the Massage Therapists’ Association of BC, the Ontario
Massage Therapist Association, individual massage
therapists and the public. The MTRF provides grants in
massage therapy research through an annual research
competition, open to qualified researchers at Canadian
academic institutions. To date, the Massage Therapy
Research Fund has provided a dozen grants in massage
therapy to academic institutions from coast to coast.
The Canadian CAM Research Fund was formed in
partnership with the Canadian Interdisciplinary Network for
Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research (IN-
CAM). The inaugural annual research competition to fund
pilot projects in CAM and integrative health was announced
in fall 2009, with grants to be awarded in spring 2010.
Also this past fall, the foundation announced the creation
of the Homeopathy Research Fund (HRF), in partnership
with the Homeopathy Research Network of Canada
(HomeoNet). Spearheaded through this new fund,
researchers will be collecting data on the clinical use of
homeopathy in the treatment of H1N1 influenza, as part of
a multi-country research project.
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Holistic Health Research has identified cancer as one
of its strategic focus areas over the coming years. Its
CAMpaign for Cancer initiative supports research
and public education that advances the scientific
understanding of the potential role that CAM and
integrative healthcare can play in the prevention,
management and treatment of cancers. The CAMpaign
is supported by individual and corporate donations, as
well as through the Aldo Fund, named in memory of
Nutrition House co-founder Aldo Dominguez. Through
this initiative, the foundation has supported research at
Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital to develop a method to
test for vitamin D and its metabolites in prostate tissues.
The test, when developed, should be an important tool
for researchers in many other cancer fields, including
breast, colorectal and lung cancer. Plans are in the works
for an annual research competition in integrative cancer
care to be established in the near future.
The Van Iterson Fund for Alternative Cancer Treatments
was established in 2007 to further research in selected
complementary and alternative cancer treatments. The first
project supported by this fund is currently underway at the
University of Calgary.
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“The foundation funds high calibre, multidisciplinary
research in complementary therapies conducted at
academic institutions across the country”
Other examples of research funded by the foundation
include the development of criteria for a multivitamin
supplement that will be used in normal, healthy adults to
discover its impact on mood and immunity (conducted at
the University of Calgary) and a pilot study on massage
therapy for hospitalized high-risk pregnant women
(involving Women’s College Hospital and Centennial
College in Toronto).
Holistic Health Research is also active in creating
educational opportunities for health professionals and the
public. In addition to being an active sponsor of IN- CAM
professional conferences, the foundation has held four of its
own annual educational events – The Immunity Challenge
(University of Toronto 2006), The Cancer Continuum
(University of Toronto 2007), The Healthy Brain (Ontario
Science Centre 2008), and The Long, Healthy Life (Ontario
Science Centre 2009) – and provides audio recordings
and handouts of the speakers’ presentations through its
new online Live Learning Centre. Its fifth annual event,
Healthy Transitions, is scheduled to take place in October
2009, and will explore evidence-based natural strategies
for optimizing health throughout the various stages of life.
The foundation is proud to have been granted continuing
education credits for its events from several health
professional regulatory colleges, including MAINPRO
credits from the College of Family Physicians of Canada.
IHP is grateful to Keren Brown for the opportunity to
introduce our readership to the Holistic Health Research
Foundation of Canada. Although early in their history,
the foundation has already made impressive strides in
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bridging the gap between conventional and complementary
healthcare practice. The future looks exceptional for this
young nonprofit organization as it successfully gains the
support of the public, corporations both within and outside
the natural health products sector, complementary and
conventional healthcare providers, and researchers across
Canada. Sound, objective, human research holds the key to
reaching conventionally trained physicians. With the help
of Holistic Health Research, complementary healthcare
providers are being handed the tools to effectively integrate
with conventionally trained physicians.
Holistic Health Research Foundation
of Canada Leadership Team
Staff
Keren Brown - Co-Founder & Executive Director
Board of Directors
Aileen Burford-Mason, PhD - Co-Founder & President
Deborah Worrad, CDir - Chair
Donna Herringer - Vice-Chair & Treasurer
Pamela Hodgson, RMT - Secretary
Nadine Bukmuz, MD - Director
Raffaele Filice, MD - Director
Katherine Macklem - Director
Mark Ware, MD - Director
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