Research Programs

Research That Preserves What It Studies

Developing research methodologies appropriate to the complexity of traditional medicine interventions — whole-systems design, adaptive protocols, and practice-based evidence networks.

Research Partnership

Applied Research Pipelines

CPD Pathways

Clinical Governance

Anchored in Tropical North Queensland — embedding clinical research and practitioner training within a living healthcare model.

Phytochemical Synergy Mapping

Network pharmacology analysis of traditional formulae to identify synergistic mechanisms that single-compound analysis cannot detect.

Computational and empirical investigation of multi-constituent botanical preparations. The signature deliverable is the first open-access database mapping traditional herbal combinations to validated network pharmacology profiles.

Cannabis Clinical Outcomes Registry

Practice-based evidence network aggregating clinical outcomes from Sohma House and partner prescriber sites.

Standardised outcome measures across condition categories. Real-world evidence generation at scale — the kind of data the TGA needs for regulatory pathway development. Feeds directly into TGA submissions and clinical protocol refinement.

Whole-Systems Research Design

Research about how to do research. Methodological innovation for complex, multi-component interventions.

Preserve intervention complexity rather than reducing it to fit existing trial designs. The contribution is a published methodology framework that other institutions can adopt — proof that rigorous evidence doesn't require destroying the thing you're studying.

Tropical & Indigenous Pharmacopoeia

Documentation and clinical validation of Far North Queensland botanical resources under Indigenous Data Sovereignty.

Supporting communities to document and validate their own traditions using modern analytical tools, with community ownership of all data and outputs. Operates under AIATSIS guidelines and community-controlled data governance.

Consciousness & Somatic Therapeutics

Clinical investigation of meditation, breathwork, and somatic practices as measurable interventions.

Standardised dosing for practices historically treated as unmeasurable. Neuroimaging partnerships to establish biomarker correlates. Moving these interventions from "wellness" into the same evidentiary category as pharmacological treatments.

AI-Augmented Clinical Decision Support

Machine learning models trained on traditional medicine diagnostic frameworks.

Constitutional classification systems, pattern recognition methodologies, and multi-target therapeutic logic. Augmenting clinical reasoning, not replacing it — surfacing pattern matches a human clinician might miss.

Clinical Translation Pipeline

Every funder and reviewer asks the same question — so what happens with the research?

It goes straight into clinical practice through Sohma House and the practitioner network. Clinical data flows back into research refinement.

The loop is closed by design.

Research Hypothesis

Clinical questions are identified directly from practice-based observation, patient outcomes, and traditional knowledge systems. Practitioners surface the gaps that matter most — the questions that academic research hasn't asked yet.

Clinical observation Defined research question

Protocol Design

Whole-systems trial methodology designed to preserve intervention complexity rather than reduce it. Protocols account for multi-compound formulations, individualised dosing, and the practitioner-patient relationship as a variable.

Research question Trial-ready protocol

Clinical Pilot

Small-scale implementation through Sohma House and partner clinics. Real patients, real conditions, real-world constraints. Pilot data validates feasibility before scaling and identifies protocol adjustments early.

Protocol on paper Feasibility-validated pilot

Data Collection

Standardised outcome measurement across the practitioner network. Registry-level data aggregation captures what isolated trials cannot — longitudinal patterns, demographic variance, and combination therapy effects at scale.

Individual case data Network-wide dataset

Refinement

Protocols are adjusted based on clinical outcomes and practitioner feedback. This isn't a single revision — it's a continuous feedback loop where each iteration sharpens dosing, timing, and patient selection criteria.

Raw outcome data Optimised protocol

Validated Protocol

Peer-reviewed publication and formal evidence tier classification. Validated protocols carry clear confidence ratings so practitioners understand exactly what the evidence supports and where further research is needed.

Clinical evidence Peer-reviewed validation

Network Distribution

Validated protocols are distributed to credentialed practitioners through the network infrastructure. Training materials, dosing guides, and clinical decision support tools ensure consistent implementation across all partner sites.

Validated protocol Network-wide practice

Bidirectional by design

Practitioners submit outcome data, adverse events, and protocol modification requests through a standardised reporting system. This data feeds directly into research program refinement.

Validated All credentialed practitioners

Completed clinical pilot, peer-reviewed publication, network-wide distribution.

Provisional Associate & Fellow practitioners

Active clinical pilot with preliminary data. Available under supervision framework.

Investigational Research settings only

Research design phase. Active data collection underway.

Research Ethics Architecture

Indigenous Data Sovereignty

Framework

All research involving Indigenous knowledge systems operates under AIATSIS guidelines and community-controlled data governance. The Institute does not extract traditional knowledge — it supports communities to document and validate their own traditions, with community ownership of all data and outputs.

Governance

The Indigenous Advisory Council holds veto authority over any research, curriculum, or publication involving Indigenous knowledge systems. This authority is constitutionally mandated, not advisory.

Open Access Commitment

Position

All Institute-generated research is published under open access licences. Traditional medicine knowledge was never proprietary. It emerged from communities, was refined through millennia of practice, and belongs to humanity. The Institute's role is translation and validation, not enclosure.

Charter Prohibition

Patent-seeking on traditional knowledge is explicitly prohibited in the Institute charter. This is a constitutional prohibition that cannot be overridden by management, the board, or future leadership.