Francesco Cerritelli
Dr Francesco Cerritelli, DO, PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Chieti-Pescara, is the President of the C.O.ME. Collaboration non-profit research foundation, Associate Professor at the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, New York (USA) and research fellow of Australian Research Center in Complementary & Integrative Medicine (ARCCIM), University of Syndey. Cerritelli has a broad interest in osteopathic research, in the study of neurobiological mechanisms of touch and therapeutic alliance, in the study of the role of placebo in manual medicines, and the analysis of the effects of new therapies in health systems focusing on the interdisciplinary aspects of evidence-based medicine. Ultimately he focuses on the re-conceptualisation of osteopathic care and, boader, manual therapies under the enactive free-energy principle. He directs many multidisciplinary research groups in Italy and abroad to innovate and produce robust scientific evidence in complementary therapies. He has authored numerous scientific publications and monographs. Since 2005, he has been engaged in osteopathic clinical activity.
Jorge Esteves
Osteopath and cognitive scientist with a special interest in chronic musculoskeletal pain. He is currently a Professor of Osteopathy and Vice-Principal at Malta ICOM Educational, Honorary Professor at the University College of Osteopathy in London, and researcher with Collaboration for Osteopathic Medicine Research in Italy. His current research interests are focused on the re-conceptualisation of osteopathic care under the enactivist and active inference frameworks. This includes a critical consideration of theories and research from enactivism, embodiment and ecological psychology, free energy principle and predictive coding, interoception and allostasis, chronic pain and persistent physical symptoms, and the neurophysiological and psychological effects of affective touch.
Kristian Petersen
Ph.D., Dr. Med, Associate Professor at Aalborg University
Department of Health Science and Technology; Faculty of Medicine; Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction; Translational Biomarkers in Pain and Precision Medicine; Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain.
Chair for the Musculoskeletal Pain Special Interest Group for International Association for the Study of Pain.
Mission statement - My long-term mission is to develop the concept “Personalized Mechanistic Pain Medicine” to provide the correct treatment to the right patient in a fast, evidence-based, and safe manner. Specifically, I study factors that modulates pain mechanisms and aim to target these mechanisms using tailored interventions to provide pain relief for patients with chronic pain.
Published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles.
Giacomo Rossettini
Ph.D. at Università degli Studi di Genova, PT.
Currently works at the Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, riabilitazione, oftalmologia, genetica e scienze materno-infantili (DINOGMI), Università degli Studi di Genova. Giacomo does research in Orthopedic Surgery, Sports Medicine and Allied Health Science. Their most recent publication is 'Context matters: the psychoneurobiological determinants of placebo, nocebo and context-related effects in physiotherapy'.
Published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles.
Gerard Alvarez
PhD on "Methodological challenges in the assessment of manual therapy interventions" on the Epidemiology and Public Health Department of The Hospital de Sant Pau (Iberoamerican Cochrane Center - Barcelona). He is a physiotherapist and osteopath DO practising in Barcelona and besides their clinical activity, he is a lecturer in several osteopathic and non-osteopathic institutions in Spain. As a researcher, Gerard has broad interests in manual therapy-related topics and is currently focused on methodological aspects of manual therapy research. He is an active member of COME Collaboration and the Director of the Spain National Center (COME NACE-ES)
Alexandre Nunes
Ph.D. in Rehabilitation at the Faculty of Human Kinetics at the University of Lisbon. His thesis was entitled “Nociplastic pain in office workers with chronic neck pain” and included quantitative sensory tests. During an internship at the SMI – Department of Health Science and Technology at Aalborg University, under the supervision of Prof. Kristian Petersen, he learned how to perform these procedures. He is currently the coordinator and head of the Osteopathy Degree course at the Piaget Institute and a lecturer at the Escola Superior de Saúde da Universidade Atlântica. He his one of the foundation members of the Portugal National Center (COME NACE-PT).
João Espírito Santo
Ph.D. in health sciences. Research thesis in the field of pain in menopausal women. He is an Osteopath practising in Lisbon and also a lecturer at the Escola Superior de Saúde da Universidade Atlântica and at Escola Superior de Educação do Instituto Politécnico de Beja. As a researcher, João is interested in manual therapy, pain, Osteopathic intervention, and menopause. He is a member of the Portugal National Center (COME NACE-PT).
Bruno Campos
Dedicated osteopath for over 15 years, maintaining a clinical practice in Portugal whilst simultaneously teaching osteopathy. He is the founder of Osteoform® and the creator of the Clinical Neuromobilization® training. He is an occasional guest lecturer at the International College of Osteopathic Medicine and is also a guest speaker at the International Osteopathic Symposium in Berlin, 2024. He continued his academic career by completing a Masters in Neurological Rehabilitation and is currently studying a Masters in Osteopathy where he studies the effect of manual therapy on compressive neuropathies. His work is closely aligned with contemporary scientific advances, particularly in the neuroscience of pain, compressive neuropathy and neurodynamics. He is also the host of the Osteotalks podcast.
João Moita
PhD in Physical Activity and Health. Coordinator of the Degree in Osteopathy and Assistant Professor at the Escola Superior de Saúde Atlântica - ESSATLA, Barcarena, Portugal;
Osteopath at the Artistic School of Dance of the National Conservatory - EADCN, Lisbon, Portugal;
Researcher in Dance Medicine and Science with an interest in the area of Injuries and Pain;