About Us

The Society for Acupuncture Research (SAR), co-founded by Patricia Culliton, Hannah Bradford, and Stephen Birch in 1993, began several years earlier as an informal group (the Committee for Acupuncture Research) to discuss methodological concerns in acupuncture research. After several meetings in 1991 and 1992, the group evolved to become a formal organization, the Society for Acupuncture Research, whose original vision was to foster scientifically sound inquiries and stimulate scholarship in acupuncture and Oriental medicine.  To this end, SAR decided to sponsor international biannual conferences on research advances and issues in acupuncture and Oriental medicine.  SAR is currently guided by Co-Presidents Rick Harris, PhD, and Jun Mao, MD, with a total of 14 board members.

SAR's Mission and Objectives (revised 2018)

Society for Acupuncture Research ~ Advancing patient care through scientific evaluation
 
Mission statement:
To advance patient care we promote scientific evaluation into acupuncture and allied therapies, as well as dissemination and implementation of these findings
 
Our objectives are:

  • To advance research methods for acupuncture and allied therapies
  • To identify the mechanisms underlying clinical effects
  • To inform knowledge gaps and future research directions
  • To contribute to the dissemination and implementation of research findings
  • To support the next generation of researchers, academic clinicians and educators

SAR logo image

 

 

The Chinese characters depicted in the Society for Acupuncture Research logo represent the concepts of "Research" and "Clinical Practice."

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Society for Acupuncture Research is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.