Peter M. Wayne, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Associate Epidemiologist, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
pwayne@bwh.harvard.edu
Dr. Wayne is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is the Director of Research for the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, and also currently serving as Interim Center Director.
The primary focus of Dr. Wayne’s research is evaluating how mind-body and related complementary and integrative medicine practices clinically impact chronic health conditions and understanding the physiological and psychological mechanisms underlying observed therapeutic effects. He has served as a principal or co-investigator on more than 25 NIH-funded studies. He has been involved in the design, conduct, analysis, and interpretation of clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of Tai Chi exercise for balance disorders, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, osteoporosis, and depression, and trials evaluating acupuncture for stroke-related paralysis, hypertension, endometriosis, and chemoradiation-related immune and swallowing side effects in cancer patients.
Dr. Wayne also has more than 40 years of formal Tai Chi and mind-body training and teaching experience, and significant experience developing and overseeing the delivery of IM interventions with reliability and fidelity in the context of clinical trials. His leadership in the field of Integrative Medicine research has been recognized nationally and internationally through service on multiple NIH grant review panels; chairing of scientific review committees for international research conferences; serving on editorial boards for multiple journals; and invitations to give keynote and plenary talks at national and international conferences. His commitment to translating my academic research to inform policy and educate the public is reflected in the Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi, a book that I published in 2013, which received an Award of Excellence in Medical Communication by the American Medical Writers Association.
Dr. Wayne is actively involved in the teaching and training of students and fellows in integrative medicine research. He currently serves as Associate Director for the NIH funded Harvard Medical School Research Fellowship in Complementary and Integrative Medicine. His commitment to mentoring is reflected in his being awarded an NIH K24 mid-career mentoring award.
MA: Harvard University
PhD: Harvard University
Full Listing of Publications
- Potential Utility of Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging to Detect Early Microcirculatory Changes Associated With Erythema Nodosum in Crohn's Disease: A Case Report November 28, 2024No abstractEunMee Yang
- Chiropractic Spinal Manipulation and Fall Risk in Older Adults With Spinal Pain: Observational Findings From a Matched Retrospective Cohort Study November 25, 2024CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that older adults receiving SMT for spinal pain may have a reduced risk of falls. However, given the observational nature of the study and the lack of significant differences in limb fracture incidence, the clinical significance of these findings remains uncertain. Further research, including randomized controlled trials, is needed to explore […]Robert J Trager
- Tai Chi for balance and postural control in people with peripheral neuropathy: A scoping review September 26, 2024CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicated that Tai Chi may enhance balance, postural control, and gait speed in patients with peripheral neuropathy, possibly through sensory restoration, although further research is needed to confirm this. Whether Tai Chi improves muscle strength or other gait health parameters is inconclusive. Rigorous randomized clinical trials should be conducted to determine the […]Mingxiao Yang
- Integrating Chiropractic Care and Tai Chi Training for the Treatment of Chronic Nonspecific Neck Pain in Nurses: A Single-Arm Mixed-Methods Pilot Trial August 22, 2024Objectives: Chronic nonspecific neck pain (CNNP) is prevalent among health care workers, with particularly high rates among nurses. Nurses experiencing CNNP often report decreased job satisfaction, increased absenteeism, and reduced productivity. In recent years, nonpharmacologic approaches have gained attention as effective treatments for the management of CNNP, with exercise and manual therapies representing two of […]Wren Burton
- Heart rate variability during sleep onset in patients with insomnia with or without comorbid sleep apnea August 13, 2024CONCLUSIONS: Participants with insomnia had lower vagal activity during the sleep onset period, which may be compounded by OSA, reflected in higher heart rates and lower HRV. These altered heart rate dynamics may serve as a physiological biomarker for insomnia during bedtime wakefulness, or as a potential tool to evaluate the efficacy of behavioral interventions […]Yan Ma