Bastyr University and Group Health Research Institute announced that Daniel C. Cherkin will become director of Bastyr University Research Institute (BURI). Dr. Cherkin is currently a senior investigator for Group Health Research Institute (GHRI).

Dr. Cherkin has strong ties to Bastyr University: He served as an instructor in 1981 and he recently co-authored a study about the positive effects integrative care can have on diabetes patients. Highly regarded in his field, Dr. Cherkin has served on numerous boards and committees, been frequently published and earned several accolades, including Prevention Magazine’s 2011 Integrative Medicine Award for his research on how massage therapy can relieve back pain. In 2010, he was appointed by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to a three-year term on the National Advisory Council for the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) within the National Institutes of Health NIH.

Dr. Cherkin will have a joint appointment to GHRI, continuing his current research projects in complementary and alternative approaches to back pain.

Since 1986, Bastyr University has completed more than 100 research studies and was the first school of naturopathic medicine to secure funding from the NIH. Dr. Cherkin’s first day as director of BURI will be Sept. 4.