Research Committee and Advisory Board
The research committeee of the European Rolfing Association ERA is promoting research efforts and research cooperations in the fields of Rolfing. The committee is supported and assisted by a scientific advisory board of renowned researchers.
The Scientific Advisory Board of the ERA
Leon Chaitow, N.D., D.O.
Editor of the peer-reviewed 
Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies. Senior lecturer at Westminster University, London. Main topics are naturopathic medicine, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / Fibromyalgia, and soft tissue manipulation.
Prof. Thomas W. Findley, MD PhD
Center for Healthcare Knowledge, VA Medical Center East Orange NJ, Professor of Physical Medicine, UMDNJ Newark NJ.
Find articles by Findley in BioMed.
Emeritus Prof. Serge Gracovetsky, PhD
Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His research about spine biomechanics and the so-called Spinal Engine is well known.
Find articles by Gracovetsky in PubMed.
Niko Kohls, PhD
Psychologist. Research focus on relationship between spirituality and health. Head of the research area "Psychophysiology of Consciousness: Spirituality, Mindfulness, Quality of Life and Health" of the Generation Research Program GRP of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University LMU Munich. Generation Research Program CV and Publications (Frame)
Gertrud H.-Meitzner, PhD
PhD in Psychology. Details see above: Research Committee of the ERA, Research Coordination.
PD Dr. med. Dominik Irnich
Medical research at the University of Munich. Focus on pain therapy, evidence based studies on acupuncture, myofascial trigger points.
Find articles by Irnich in PubMed
Prof. M. Solomonow, PhD,MD(hon)
Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Director of Bioengineering Division & Musculoskeletal Disorders Research Laboratory, University of Colorado, Denver, Health Sciences Center.
Find articles by Solomonow in PubMed
Andry Vleeming, PhD
clinical anatomist and founder of the Spine and Joint Rehabilitation Centre, Rotterdam. Vleeming has worked with a team of experts on the new European Guidelines on Pelvic Girdle pain. He is organizer of the tri-annual World Congress on Low Back & Pelvic Pain www.worldcongresslbp.com.
Find articles by Vleeming in PubMed.
Prof. Harald Walach, PhD
research professor in psychology, University of Northampton UK, School of Social Sciences, as well as coordinator of the European office of the Samueli Institute. Research on the evaluation of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) as well as on the methodology of evaluation of CAM. President of the International Society for Complementary Medical Research.
The Research Committee of the ERA
Dr. biol.hum. Robert Schleip, Research Director of the ERA
Robert Schleip directs the Fascia Research Project at Ulm University, Germany. He has an M.A. degree in psychology and a PhD in human biology. His research on active contractile properties of fascial tissues was awarded with the Vladimir Janda Award for Musculoskeletal Medicine. He was co-initiator and organizer of the first Fascia Research Congress at the conference center of Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA, in 2007, and is co-organizing the next fascia research congress to happen at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2009. He is a board member of the Ida P. Rolf Research Foundation and a certified Rolfing instructor.
robert.schleip(at)uni-ulm.de www.somatics.de & www.fasciaresearch.de
Dr. phil. Gertrud H.-Meitzner, Scientific Adviser, Research Coordination of the ERA
Dr. Gertrud H.-Meitzner received a PhD in Psychology. Her research aimed especially at "Archetypes of Movement"; at the LMU Munich she wrote a research paper about the effectivity of body- and expression-oriented therapy in the context of social phobia. Her particular research interests lie in the field of discovery and development of human potentials. H.-Meitzner is certified supervisor and coach, a teacher's supervisor at the University of Kassel as well as Certified Rolfer & Certified Rolfing Movement Practitioner. Working with body-oriented methods is one of the key aspects of her practice.
gertrud.meitzner(at)rolfing.org
Lic.biol. Theres Grau, Assistant of the Research Committee
Theres Grau is Certified Rolfer in Berlin. Research in plant physiology and subsequent years at the Swiss Academy of Sciences as a project leader in public relations and scientific editing. Assisting the Research Committee primarily in editing and internet presentation. www.theres-grau.net
