Rate My Professor Claire Johnson

Claire Johnson, DC, MSEd, PhD, DACBSP, FICC, serves as Professor and Editor in Chief of the National University of Health Sciences' three scientific, peer-reviewed journals indexed in PubMed: the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, the flagship journal for chiropractic; Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, covering general practice, sports, pediatrics, diagnostic imaging, forensics, and neurology; and Journal of Chiropractic Humanities, the most cited philosophy journal in the profession. Holding a BA from the University of California–San Diego Revelle College (1987), a Doctor of Chiropractic from Los Angeles College of Chiropractic (1991), an MSEd from the University of Southern California (2000), and a PhD in Public Health with a focus on Epidemiology from Walden University (2016), she is also a Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians (1997). Johnson joined NUHS in 2004, where she has since conducted hundreds of published research projects, initially centered on chiropractic education including clinical reasoning testing formats, clinical case reports, and historical research on science in the chiropractic profession. Her work has evolved to emphasize public health promotion and community health.

Her research specializations include chiropractic education research, public health epidemiology, and spine care delivery in underserved communities, notably through her contributions to the Global Spine Care Initiative, an international collaboration developing an evidence-based model of spine care with professionals from 24 countries. Johnson founded and administers the Chiropractic Educators Research Forum to build international research capacity in chiropractic education. She chairs the Public Health Committee of the World Federation of Chiropractic, serves on the Interdisciplinary Committee of the North American Spine Society, and has contributed to the American Public Health Association. In 2019, she delivered an oral plenary presentation on the Global Spine Care Initiative at the 10th Interdisciplinary World Congress on Low Back and Pelvic Girdle Pain in Antwerp, Belgium. Among her major awards are the American Chiropractic Association Presidential Award (2020), National University of Health Sciences President’s Quality Service Award (2018), American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians Sports Chiropractor of the Year (2018), Clinical Compass Person of the Year (2018), American Public Health Association Chiropractic Health Care Section Distinguished Service Award (2012), Fellowship of the International College of Chiropractic (2012), and NUHS Award for Distinguished Service (2010). Her leadership has elevated NUHS journals to prominent status in the field.