|
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), a leading trade
association for the dietary supplement industry, announced the addition of a
new member to its team of scientists in September.1 Douglas (Duffy) MacKay, ND,
will now serve as a new vice president of regulatory and scientific affairs for
CRN.
“We are extremely
excited to welcome Dr. MacKay to our staff,” said CRN President and CEO Steve
Mister in a recent CRN press release.1 “As a licensed naturopathic
doctor, he adds an impressive combination of theoretical and practical
expertise to our scientific team.”
Prior to
joining CRN, Dr. MacKay served for 4 years as the vice president of clinical
research at Nordic Naturals, a respected producer of fish oil-based dietary
supplements. In that position, he was responsible for product formulation,
coordinating clinical trial research, serving as a technical/medical advisor,
and managing the company’s Adverse Event Reporting (AER) system, among other
duties. Other previous work experiences include serving as senior technical
advisor for Thorne Research, a manufacturer of dietary supplements for health
professionals, and senior editor of the journal Alternative Medicine Review. He also co-owned and practiced naturopathic
medicine at the Makai Naturopathic Center
in New Hampshire
for 7 years. He has a bachelor’s degree in marine sciences from the University of California
at Santa Cruz and a degree in naturopathic
medicine from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon.
“My career
path thus far has included facilitating research, formulating products, writing
[Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act] compliant marketing material, and
working with manufacturers,” said Dr. MacKay (e-mail, September 29, 2008). “All
of this was done at the same time I was working directly with patients and
getting a first-hand perspective on how they are impacted by the dietary supplement
industry. I have observed the whole spectrum of the industry on consumers. I
have seen supplements dramatically improve the health and lives of hundreds,
but also have observed consumers fall prey to false and misleading advertising
claims."
He continued: “As a naturopathic
doctor, I felt a duty to take my next career step and to attempt to influence
the future of health as we know it. My role at CRN will allow me to indirectly
support my many colleagues that practice integrative medicine, as well as the
millions of Americans that take dietary supplements. In addition, my first hand
experience within supplement companies and in patient care will bring a new
perspective and energy to CRN.”
Dr. MacKay
is to serve as CRN’s resident expert on botanicals. He will assist other key
CRN staff members in interpreting and contributing to the science surrounding
dietary supplements and nutrition, as well as advising, educating, and
representing CRN’s members on regulatory matters that impact the industry.
“I have
many goals to accomplish while at CRN,” said Dr. MacKay. “I have a particular
interest in the area of botanical medicine. Herbs are complex entities and our
scientific understanding of how they influence human health is in its infancy
stage. My goal is to continue to promote and shape guidelines that facilitate
the safety and efficacy of botanical products. At the same time, I would like
to be a voice of reason that helps to preserve the many time-honored and widely
varied approaches to using herbal products. There is danger in over-emphasizing
randomized placebo-controlled trials as the only means to establishing
efficacy. Herbs are far too complex to solely rely on the reductionist models
and thinking of conventional medicine to validate efficacy.”
He added
that he would also like to help researchers establish more validated risk
biomarkers. Dr. MacKay explained that the availability of additional risk
biomarkers would eliminate the need to continue some research studies until a
disease endpoint has been reached. For instance, if a study were to show that a
product increases bone density, the researcher could profess that the product
decreases the risk for osteoporosis. It would eliminate the need to continue
the clinical trial until osteoporosis sets in. According to Dr. MacKay, this
would be a significant research cost saving and could help to quickly expand
understanding of natural products on human health. “Medicine
is clearly moving toward an integrated model that includes dietary supplements
as a key tool to staying healthy,” said Dr. MacKay. “Change is happening—the research
and science supporting natural products is prolific, [complementary and
alternative medicine] is being taught at most conventional medical schools, and
the public is demanding more options. As a licensed naturopathic doctor with my
unique and various experiences, I felt a duty to get involved on a deeper
level. I was thrilled that CRN acknowledged my training and experience by
extending me a job offer.”
—Courtney Cavaliere
Reference 1. CRN
welcomes new scientist to its team [press release]. Washington DC:
Council for Responsible Nutrition; September 9, 2008.
|