Biography of Dr. Claire M. Cassidy, PhD, Dipl Ac

I have been practicing acupuncture and related medical care in or near Bethesda MD since 2001. I love the work and feel it is stronger because I came to clinical work after a complete career in teaching and research (for details, see my resume in the Professional Activities section). From 1998 - 2001 I studied Traditional Chinese Medicine with teachers from Shanghai at the Chinese medical school in Bethesda MD. Since graduating I have added advanced training in Yamamoto scalp acupuncture and Kiiko Matsumoto-style Japanese acupuncture. I am also certified in both Loomis(TM) enzyme therapy and BioSET(TM) allergy elimination.

My extensive medical and nutritional background serves my patients every day in the clinic. Before becoming a clinician, I earned my Doctorate in Human Biology, did postdoctoral research at the Smithsonian Institution (Washington DC) and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (Baltimore MD), taught medical and nutritional anthropology at universities, did field research, and worked as a consultant.

In 1991 I accepted a position as Director of Research at a leading acupuncture school, TAI-SOPHIA, near Columbia MD. In this position I carried out the first national survey of acupuncture patients (1995), learning why they sought acupuncture care and what they experienced. In 1992 I co-led a methodology seminar at the first National Institutes of Health-sponsored Workshop on Alternative Medicine. Subsequently I served on the editorial board that analyzed data emerging from this conference to produce (1995) Alternative Medicine, Expanding Medical Horizons (US Government Printing Office). I edited a major text entitled Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture (2002, Churchill-Livingstone), and serve as an Associate Editor for the leading professional journal Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (MaryAnn Liebert, Publisher). I write a quarterly column for Pathways Magazine, Mind/Body/Spirit Resources in the Washington DC Metro Area.

On a personal note, I am married and have one adult daughter. I love to garden, hike, cook and eat good food, hang out with friends, and in my spare time I am slowly building a dollhouse 'just for fun'.