Press Release: Logan University Student Selected for the Dartmouth Fellowship
The Chiropractic Future Strategic Plan is pleased to announce that a recent graduate of Logan University has been awarded full tuition and a monthly stipend at Dartmouth College – Geisel School of Medicine. The Dartmouth Fellowship was made possible by funding through the Chiropractic Future Pierce Family Chiropractic Research Fellowship Fund.
“The Chiropractic Research Fellowship at Dartmouth will start August 1, 2023. It will be a three-year fellowship and is the first of its kind in the U.S. We are very excited to get started. The fellowship will have an immediate positive impact at our institution, bringing attention to the importance of spinal manipulation for the relief of spine pain. Dartmouth has had national influence on the non-operative management of low back pain, and we expect the fellowship will build on this tradition,” stated Dr. Louis Kazal, Jr., Professor of Community and Family Medicine at Dartmouth Medical School. “The fellow will obtain a Master’s in Public Health at TDI (The Dartmouth Institute) during the first two years, receive research and clinical mentorship, see patients, and complete a research study. The research and clinical focus will involve pain caused by spinal conditions. Dartmouth Health Primary Care Clinic at Heater Road has a primary spine care program as part of routine primary care. The fellow will spend ½ day per week there seeing patients and ½ day at the Spine Center. The remainder of the time will be classroom work and research. The goal of the fellowship is to train highly qualified chiropractors to do advanced research on spine-related pain conditions at leading Schools of Chiropractic as faculty.”
Logan Benjamin, DC, CSCS is a recent graduate of Logan University with a Doctor of Chiropractic degree. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Health and Human Performance from Montana State University. He is originally from Montana, where he met his wife, Cassie. His year-long preceptorship at a federally qualified health center in downtown St. Louis exposed him to the challenges faced by lower socioeconomic groups in accessing traditional chiropractic care. He is interested in implementation science, particularly in finding the most efficient and effective ways to provide care in community health centers and hospital systems.
Currently, he is working with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on a scoping review of implementation studies for non-pharmacologic and noninvasive treatments for low back pain. Dr. Benjamin is thrilled to have been chosen to represent the chiropractic profession at Dartmouth College and will do everything he can to help lead the profession toward a more unified
future.
“I am honored to have been chosen for the Dartmouth Fellowship and grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the future of chiropractic care. This fellowship will allow me to further develop my research skills and make a meaningful impact on the accessibility of conservative care for those who need it the most,” stated Dr. Benjamin. “I am excited to collaborate with esteemed researchers and mentors at Dartmouth College and work towards a more unified and equitable healthcare system.”
“The Dartmouth Fellowship reflects the Chiropractic Future Strategic Plan’s commitment to creating a well-funded research environment and more career opportunities for chiropractic researchers,” states Dr. Heidi Haavik, Research Workgroup Chair. “Fellowships like these, and the support of the Pierce Family Chiropractic Research Fund, are essential in providing opportunities to students like Dr. Benjamin and advancing the chiropractic profession,” Dartmouth department chair, Dr. Beth B. Wilson stated, “We are excited to collaborate with leaders of the chiropractic profession on their goal of moving the profession forward into a thriving academic future. This fellowship is an important step in developing the necessary research capacity to achieve that goal.”
About the Chiropractic Future Strategic Plan
In November of 2019, a visionary idea was born: Build a strategic plan which will lead the entire chiropractic profession into an essential and thriving future. In August 2020, that visionary idea became The Chiropractic Future Visioning and Strategic Planning Project. Massive quantitative and qualitative data gathering from all corners of the profession successfully identified common goals and priorities. Intensely spirited and collaborative workgroup sessions, representing the breadth of the profession, accomplished the heavy lift of creating an actionable, measurable plan. Eighteen months after the idea was born, a historic 2021 – 2026 strategic
plan has been developed.
About the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Founded in 1797, the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth strives to improve the lives of the communities it serves through excellence in learning, discovery, and healing. The Geisel School of Medicine is renowned for its leadership in medical education, healthcare policy and delivery science, biomedical research, global health, and in creating innovations that improve lives worldwide. As one of America’s leading medical schools, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine is committed to training new generations of diverse leaders who will help solve our most vexing challenges in healthcare.
