Dr. Michael L Kuchera, DO

The Director of the Center for Chronic Disorders of Aging and of OMM Research, Professor Michael L. Kuchera, DO, was recruited to PCOM in 2002 with over two decades of teaching, research, and clinical service. Dr. Kuchera graduated from the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (KCOM) where he later served as chairperson of OMM, OMM Residency director, Vice President for International Osteopathic Research & Education, and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean.

Currently Dr. Kuchera directs the Human Performance & Biomechanics Laboratory, mentors PCOM and masters students, and teaches teh OMM curriculum to students in years 1-3. Dr. Kuchera was funded by the U. S. Department of Defense (DoD) to study the effects of a progressive maximal effort exercise protocol for multiple sclerosis subjects and by the Philadelphia Health Care Trust documenting the effects of passive exercise in subjects with degenerative neurologic disorders. The DoD also funded Dr. Kuchera to compare …conservative care with and without OMT to tissue healing rates in ankle sprains exposed to low-intensity laser. He is the lead principal investigator in a five-state collaborative project with Veteran's Administration Medical Centers as well as leading a multi-center project consisting of military personnel and athletes. Currently, he is studying the effects of OMT compared to improve care for patients with Parkinson's Disease. Now on the AOA Council of Research, in 2002, the AOA Bureau of Research honored Dr. Kuchera with their highest honor, the Gutensohn-Denslow Award.

Dr. Kuchera earned an international reputation. He also co-authored a nationally recognized museum exhibit, The Healer Within, which has toured the country and the Smithsonian Institute. A past president of the American Academy of Osteopathy (AAO), Dr. Kuchera represents the United States in the International Federation of Manual/Musculoskeletal Medicine (www.FIMM-online.org), where he is serving as vice-president. He has been invited to lecture numerous times in Europe, Japan, and Australia and is a founding member of the AOA's Bureau on International Osteopathic Medical Education & Affairs (BIOMEA). In addition to co-editing and writing numerous articles and chapters in the Foundations for Osteopathic Medicine text, Dr. Kuchera coauthored Osteopathic Considerations in Systemic Dysfunction with his father as well as two other textbooks.

A long-time student advocate, Dr. Kuchera was unanimously granted life membership to National SOMA, served as the National UAAO faculty sponsor, and is faculty sponsor for both SOMA on the PCOM campus as well as the SeekHealth organization at PCOM.