The Homeopathy Research Institute, which we previously had the opportunity to introduce to you in March, is an independent international association promoting high-quality scientific research into homeopathy. As an authority in the field, it brings together thousands of experts and researchers from all over the world, all working to advance scientific research in homeopathy. Here we present portraits of six of these researchers, along with a few words about their research projects.

Dr Alexander Tournier is a physicist, and founder of the HRI. As one of the most important figures in homeopathic research, he works on advances in research in physics and biology. He has published three research reviews, the most recent of which, in 2021, examined hypotheses in physics for the explanation of the mechanism of action of homeopathy.

His research proceeds at the interface between biology, physics and mathematics, proof that the study of homeopathy requires not only a high level of expertise but also an appetite for interdisciplinarity.

He shares this ability with other scientists such as Dr Stephan Baumgartner, who holds a doctorate in environmental sciences from ETH, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. The work of Dr Baumgartner’s team at the University of Bern in Switzerland focuses on the development of experimental models for use in basic homeopathic research.

Work carried out in 2020 on the subject of “succussion” was published in the journal Scientific Reports, part of the Nature group, and is to date the most downloaded article in this leading scientific journal.

Professor Léoni Bonamin is a Brazilian researcher, a graduate of the Paulista University in Sao Paulo. She works on the biological activity of homeopathy, in particular at high dilutions, at the cellular level with a focus on the cells of the immune system.

The physical and chemical properties of aqueous systems, essential to the vital processes of living things, are the field of interest of Professor Vladimir Voeikov. He has studied the functions of water and reactive species of hydric oxygen in bioenergetics.

Professeur Robert Hahn is a Swedish clinical physician who has worked for 30 years in “conventional” clinical research, in medical fields such as anesthesia and surgery, in which he specializes. He is recognized as an expert in the methodology of clinical trials. After working as a clinical anesthesiologist for 14 years, he turned to university research.

He is the author of more than 300 publications, only one of which deals with complementary medicine, and more particularly the effects of homeopathy. He decided to place his expertise at the service of his own “meta-analysis” of clinical studies involving homeopathy in 2013. Entitled “Homeopathy: Meta-analyses of pooled clinical data,” he concluded that homeopathic medicines show a clinical action that is indisputably superior to placebo.

Dr Jens Behnke is director of the integrative medicine program of the Karl and Veronica Carstens foundation, created in 1981, which works for the inclusion of complementary medical procedures in medicine and scientific research in Germany.

Finally, the HRI would not be the association we know today without its executive director, Rachel Roberts. With a degree in biological sciences specializing in physiology, and a diploma from the College of Homeopathy, London obtained in 1997, she worked as a homeopath in private practice until 2012.

In 2018, she was named an honorary member of the Faculty of Homeopathy for her valuable work in the field of homeopathic research. She joined the HRI in 2010.

These researchers, from all disciplines, are an example of the high-level international scientific community which is today committed to promoting and advancing research in homeopathy and providing new knowledge for therapeutics.

Appearing in a short film, they have each had a chance to speak in support of their expertise, as well as recounting the years of research that they have carried out between them, which show that homeopathy has both a biological action and a proven clinical effect far beyond the placebo effect.

Enjoy the film!