What is PCRM? - Doctors and laypersons working together for compassionate and effective medical practice, research, and health promotion.

Prevention

PCRM promotes preventive medicine through innovative programs:

• PCRM has led the way for reforms of federal nutrition policies.

• Our clinical research programs are breaking new ground in diabetes, cancer, and other serious conditions.

• PCRM’s Cancer Project has provided vital information to tens of thousands of people.

• The New Four Food Groups is PCRM’s innovative proposal for a federal nutrition policy that puts a new priority on health.

• Our public service announcement series features medical experts on prevention and health.

• Research Advocacy

We encourage higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research:

• We oppose unethical human experiments. While great strides have been made in eliminating such experiments, problems remain. For example, children are still given synthetic growth hormone in experiments to make them taller, and both children and adults are exposed to unnecessary new drugs which have toxic effects.

• We promote alternatives to animal research. We have worked to put a stop to gruesome experiments, such as the military’s cat-shooting studies, DEA narcotics experiments, and monkey self-mutilation projects. We also promote non-animal methods in medical education. Currently, more than three-quarters of all U.S. medical schools have dropped their animal labs for medical students.

Organization

Founded in 1985, PCRM is a nonprofit organization supported by physicians and laypersons who receive Good Medicine each quarter. PCRM programs combine the efforts of medical experts and grassroots individuals.

Leadership

PCRM Board of Directors: Neal D. Barnard, M.D., President; Mark Sklar, M.D., Director; Russell Bunai, M.D., Treasurer and Secretary.

PCRM’s advisory board includes 11 health care professionals from a broad range of specialties:

T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. Cornell University
Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D. The Cleveland Clinic
Suzanne Havala Hobbs, Dr.PH., M.S., R.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Henry J. Heimlich, M.D., Sc.D. The Heimlich Institute
Lawrence Kushi, Sc.D. Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente
Virginia Messina, M.P.H., R.D. Nutrition Matters, Inc.
John McDougall, M.D. McDougall Program, St. Helena Hospital
Milton Mills, M.D. Gilead Medical Group
Myriam Parham, R.D., L.D., C.D.E. East Pasco Medical Center
William Roberts, M.D. Baylor Cardiovascular Institute
Andrew Weil, M.D. University of Arizona

Affiliations are listed for identification only.

Ethics in Human Research:  PCRM proposes higher ethical standards in conducting human research.

Humane Charities Campaign: Find out how PCRM encourages responsible research practices among health charities.

Ethics in Medical Student Education: Learn about alternatives to the use of animals in medical school curricula.

Animal Experimentation Issues: Explore the facts and fallacies about animal experiments.

Ethics in Science Education: Visit this PCRM Web site to learn about alternatives to animal dissection.

Ethics in Trauma Training: Learn about superior non-animal training methods.

Improving Military Medicine: Learn more about the use of live animals in Department of Defense medical training courses and what the non-animal alternatives are.

PCRM’s work to promote Alternatives to Animal Testing and Research has been generously sponsored by:
Shaynie Aero
Kim Howe - Breyer, Maker of the World's Finest Model Horses