Wayne Jonas, MD

President, Healing Works Foundation

Wayne Jonas, MD, is a board-certified, practicing family physician, an expert in integrative health and whole person care delivery, and a widely published scientific investigator. Additionally, Dr. Jonas is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Medical Corps of the United States Army. From 2001-2016, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Samueli Institute, a non-profit medical research organization supporting the scientific investigation of healing processes in the areas of stress, pain and resilience.

Dr. Jonas wrote the best-selling book How Healing Works, laying out a revolutionary new way to approach injury, illness, and wellness. He also co-authored a second book with Alyssa McManamon, MD, Healing and Cancer: A Guide to Whole Person Cancer Care. This book is meant to be actively used by teams caring for people with cancer and by caregivers and patients to enhance healing, health, and wellbeing.

Dr. Jonas was the Director of the Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health from 1995-1999, and prior to that served as the Director of the Medical Research Fellowship at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

His research has appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of the American Medical Association, Nature Medicine, the Journal of Family Practice, the Annals of Internal Medicine, and The Lancet. Dr. Jonas received the 2015 Pioneer Award from the Integrative Healthcare Symposium, the 2007 America’s Top Family Doctors Award, the 2003 Pioneer Award from the American Holistic Medical Association, the 2002 Physician Recognition Award of the American Medical Association, and the 2002 Meritorious Activity Prize from the International Society of Life Information Science in Chiba, Japan.

Dr. Jonas has led and participated in hundreds of research studies beginning with his time as Director of the National Institutes of Health Office of Alternative Medicine. While serving as CEO and President of the non-profit research organization Samueli Institute, his work set the bar for evidence-based research in the areas of pain, stress and human performance.

Dr. Jonas currently serves as the President of Healing Works Foundation, a not for profit organization dedicated to the integration of healing and curing in routine health care delivery.

Short Bio

Wayne Jonas, MD, is a widely published investigator, practicing family physician, and professor of medicine at Georgetown University and at Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. He is also a retired lieutenant colonel in the Medical Corps of the United States Army. Dr. Jonas was the director of the Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health from 1995 to 1999 and led the World Health Organization’s Collaborative Center for Traditional Medicine. Prior to that, he served as the director of medical research fellowship at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. He now advises national and international organizations on ways to implement evidence-based healing practices in their medical systems. He serves as the President of Healing Works Foundation.