Kylie O’Brien

BSc(Optom), BAppSc(ChinMed), MPH PhD (Chinese Medicine), Grad Cert Tert Ed, Dip Toyohari Meridian Therapy, Dip Rem Massage

Kylie O'Brien is the National Academic Director Complementary Medicine at the Australian Institute of Applied Science (AIAS) and also Adjunct Associate Professor at Victoria University where she was previously Associate Dean (Teaching & Learning). She is a member of the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies' Standardisation Committee, a member of the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency's (TEQSA) Expert Panel and Statutory Member of the TGA’s Advisory Committee on Complementary Medicines.

Originally trained as an optometrist, Kylie's career changed to Chinese Medicine (CM) in the late 1990's. She has been involved in CM education for over 12 years as well as working for the Department of Human Services on the implementation of the (then) Victorian Chinese Medicine Act 2000. Kylie has been responsible for the development of three CM Masters degree curricula in both Western Sydney University and RMIT University, and remains an active researcher, supervising PhD and Masters students. Research has included investigations into the efficacy of Chinese herbal medicines on cardiovascular risk factors and osteoarthritis of the knee. She also conducted the world's first comprehensive investigation into the reliability of the CM diagnostic system and the first research into the physiological effect of Toyohari Meridian Therapy (acupuncture) on physiological cardiovascular variables.