Eminent researcher associate professor lesley braun to head blackmores institute

Highly respected researcher and integrative medicine expert, Associate Professor Lesley Braun is the new Director of the Blackmores Institute. 

The appointment was announced this week by Ms Christine Holgate, Blackmores Chief Executive Officer who says she is delighted to welcome Dr Braun to The Blackmores Institute. 

“Lesley’s evidence based understanding of the interplay between complementary and conventional medicine will significantly bolster the development of the Blackmores Institute as a centre of excellence in natural health research and education,” Ms Holgate says.

“Lesley has been a practicing pharmacist, so is uniquely placed to understand the important role community pharmacists can play, beyond dispensing, to actively advise on and manage their customers’ health. Having worked both in research, and in customer facing roles we are excited about the insights she will bring towards furthering the natural health knowledge base of community pharmacists.”

Dr Braun is at the forefront of complementary medicine research in Australia. She is an Associate Professor of Integrative Medicine within the National Institute of Complementary Medicine (University of Western Sydney). She has been a senior academic at the Department of Medicine (Monash University), Adjunct Senior Research Fellow within the Monash/Alfred Psychiatric Research Centre and a research pharmacist at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. Lesley completed a PhD at RMIT investigating Complementary Medicines in Victorian hospitals.

She is also the main author of the best-selling textbook ‘Herbs and Natural Supplements – an evidence based guide’ – published by Elsevier, co-Editor-in-Chief of a new international journal by Elsevier entitled ‘ Advances in Integrative Medicine’, a regular columnist for the Australian Journal of Pharmacy (AJP),  and regularly presents on integrative medicine at national and international conferences. 

The Associate Professor is a member of numerous committees/boards and councils such as the Australian Therapeutic Goods Advisory Council (ATGAC), Advisory Committee on Complementary Medicines (ACCM), Executive committee for the Complementary and Integrative Medicine interest group for the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia (COSA), Advisory Committee for the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association (AIMA), past Vice President of the National Herbalists Association of Australia.

Dr Braun joins the Blackmores Executive Team on 1 February, 2014, to replace outgoing Institute director, Mr Neal Mercado.

Mr Mercado, who will be moving to Bioceuticals, is also delighted to welcome Dr Braun to the position.

One of Dr Braun's first events in the director's role will be as convenor and also a keynote speaker at the upcoming Blackmores Institute Symposium. This promises to be an major event in the education and conference calendar for pharmacists in 2014 so register now for an early bird discount.