The Santé-AF feasibility study is the PhD project of Karen Charlesworth, an acupuncturist and researcher studying at the University of York, UK.
Karen’s academic supervisors are Dr Judith Watson and Professor David Torgerson of the York Trials Unit, and she is also supported by Ada Keding and Professor Patrick Doherty of the University of York Health Sciences department. Karen was also formerly supported by the late Hugh MacPherson, Professor of Acupuncture Research at the University of York.
Our practitioners
Santé-AF’s practitioners are a group of highly qualified, experienced acupuncturists and nutritional therapists with many years of clinical experience between them. All our practitioners are fully insured members of their respective professional bodies – either the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) or the British Association for Nutritional Therapy and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT).
Cheng Hao Zhou trained at the Shanghai University of Traditional Medicine and came to the UK in 2000, where she worked with the Holistic Cancer Care Centre at the James Cook University Hospital and took a leading role in acupuncture education at the Northern College of Acupuncture. Cheng practises at the York Clinic for Integrated Healthcare.
Claire Murray trained in Nutritional Therapy at the Northern College of Acupuncture and graduated in 2019 with a Post-Graduate Diploma in Nutrition Science. She specialises in gut health and the gut microbiome, creating targeted dietary and supplement programmes to address an individual’s health needs and life goals. Claire currently practises online due to the Covid pandemic.
Clarissa Nolan is a qualified Registered General Nurse who trained as a nutritional therapist at the Northern College of Acupuncture in 2016. She uses a functional medicine approach to identify each of her clients’ unique requirements by addressing the whole person and their diet, lifestyle, body chemistry, genetic and environmental factors. Clarissa practises from the York Natural Health clinic and The Wellbeing Centre, but will be working online with Santé-AF participants during the Covid pandemic.
Elena Holmes trained as a nutritional therapist at the Northern College of Acupuncture, graduating in 2016 and obtaining her Masters degree in Nutritional Therapy in 2019. As a practitioner, she has an interest in cardiovascular health and works with her clients to combine a rigorous scientific approach with great-tasting, wholesome food and cooking. Elena practises from her premises in Selby, but will be working online with Santé-AF participants during the Covid pandemic.
The British Acupuncture Council
The BAcC is the UK’s leading professional body for traditional acupuncture. All BAcC members must have a training equivalent to first degree level (typically a Bachelor of Science) and must uphold the highest standards of professional conduct, clinical excellence and safety.
The BAcC is supporting Santé-AF with a research grant made to the researcher, Karen Charlesworth; and its status as a non-commercial partner of the National Institute of Health Research has allowed the study to attract further funding in the shape of support from the Clinical Research Network.
To find out more about the British Acupuncture Council, please visit their website.
Trial Steering Committee
Santé-AF is guided by a Trial Steering Committee (TSC), which – amongst other things – monitors trial safety and ensures the continued wellbeing of its participants, particularly in view of Covid-19.
The Trial Steering Committee is chaired by Harriet Lansdown, an experienced medical researcher with expertise in trials. Harriet is supported on the TSC by John Wheeler, an expert acupuncturist representative; Dr Sonia Williams, an expert nutritional therapist representative; and Dr Sanjay Gupta, an expert cardiology representative.
The TSC is also augmented by the researcher, Karen Charlesworth, and a representative from the trial’s sponsor (the University of York).
If you would like to contact the Trial Steering Committee, please click here to email.
The Northern College of Acupuncture
The trial is supported by the Northern College of Acupuncture (NCA), which offers MSc and BSc courses in Acupuncture, Nutritional Therapy, Chinese Herbal Medicine, and Advanced Oriental Medicine, Nutrition and Complementary Medicine. The College was co-founded in 1988 by Professor Hugh MacPherson, and the researcher, Karen Charlesworth, currently holds the post of research director at the College. The NCA support for Santé-AF is “in kind”, including some staff time, research leave and use of the College facilities.
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