FORT WORTH, Texas—The University of North Texas Health Science Center will be the primary site for the new Osteopathic Research Center (ORC), according to an announcement this week at the national gathering of osteopathic professionals.

Officials from the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM), the American Osteopathic Foundation (AOF) and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) made the announcement October 22, in San Diego during the annual AOA convention.

“UNTHSC excelled in all aspects of the selection process, and it has the faculty, facility, and financial resources to support the ORC,” said John B. Crosby, J.D., AOA and AOF executive director.

As the primary site for the ORC, the health science center will collaborate with other colleges of osteopathic medicine to investigate the clinical efficacy of osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM). Research prototypes planned include a study of OMM in moderately severe osteoarthritis, as well as the effect of OMM on outcomes of pregnancy.

Scott Stoll, D.O., Ph.D., chair of the department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine and director of the Physical Medicine Institute, will direct the ORC.

“The establishment of the Osteopathic Research Center is a milestone in the history of the osteopathic medical profession,” said Douglas L. Wood, D.O., AACOM president. “The Center will provide us with a unique opportunity to establish osteopathic manipulation as a therapeutic modality based on excellent research.”

Other organizations that played an instrumental role in the selection process include the American Osteopathic Healthcare Association/Association of Osteopathic Directors of Medical Education, American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, and the American Academy of Osteopathy.

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