The goal is to hold a research conference sponsored by the American Osteopathic Association in New Orleans, LA on October 12-15, 2003. The title is "Evidence-Base for the use of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine in Clinical Practice". Twelve speakers have been selected who agree to present new and original research data regarding the use of osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) in clinical practice. In that each topic is a specific use of OMM, and that OMM is considered a form of CAM, the program should be of interest to NCCAM Also, because many of the medical conditions to be featured in the program are musculoskeletal, the program should be of interest to NIAMS. Finally, because the medical conditions are more prevalent in the elderly, the conference may be of interest to NIA. The didactic session format allows for four 30-40 minute presentations on each of three mornings. This promotes interaction in an intimate setting of investigators who have overlapping clinical interests. This is a fertile setting for generating additional collaboration and research plans. We are arranging joint sponsorship of one-third of the Conference with the American Academy of Osteopathy. Members of the Academy are particularly interested in manipulative medicine in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. A second component of the Conference that features original research is the poster session. We expect approximately 100 abstracts will be submitted to the AOA, reviewed by the Council on Research Grants and that most will be found to contain original research data as required for acceptance. Publication in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association and presentation at the Conference in poster format will follow. The poster session includes a student research prize competition.