Professor Hugh MacPherson – Former Professor of Acupuncture University of York
Hugh was affiliated with the University of York as an Emeritus Professor of Acupuncture Research. He trained as a practitioner of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine in the early 1980s and he continued to practice acupuncture at the York Clinic for Integrated Healthcare. He founded the Northern College of Acupuncture in 1988, and he continued to be involved with the College as Chair of Trustees. In 1997 he became Research Director at the Foundation for Research into Traditional Chinese Medicine, a base from which he launched his career in research, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Sheffield. He was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship by the Department of Health in 2003, which was based at the Department of Health Sciences, University of York. From there his research into acupuncture included safety studies, clinical trials and systematic reviews. His trials evaluated the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of acupuncture for a variety of conditions that are problematic in primary care, including low back pain, irritable bowel syndrome, depression and chronic neck pain. He also conducted neuroimaging studies exploring potential mechanisms of acupuncture. He was lead editor of the book, “Acupuncture research: strategies for building an evidence base” and co-editor of, “The integration of East Asian medicine into contemporary healthcare”, both published by Elsevier.
On 16th July 2020 Hugh retired as Chair of the Board of the Northern College of Acupuncture, due to his declining health, and was presented with a book containing contributions from Hugh’s friends and colleagues across the world, and a letterpress print for his wall.
Hugh's celebration book is available to view/download as a PDF here
