Dr Phillip Cheras received his PhD from the University of Queensland in Australia in 1993 and has been an Adjunct Associate Professor with NatMed Research at Southern Cross University in Australia since 2007. He has received international attention for his doctoral research which lead him to propose a new paradigm for the causation of osteoarthritis. He has published his "Vascular Concept of Osteoarthritis Causation" and presented it at numerous international conferences and symposia. In 2001 he was a core member of the team that established the Australian Centre for Complementary Medical Education and Research (ACCMER), a joint venture of the University of Queensland and Southern Cross University, and became the foundation Deputy Director.

Dr Cheras has been the Principal or Co-investigator of clinical trials in complementary medicine valued in excess of $5 million. He has fostered links between the complementary medicine industry, academia, government, and entrepreneurial investors.

Dr Cheras reviews for a wide range of journals and organizations including the Cancer Council of Australia. In 2007, he was appointed as Interim Executive Officer for the newly created national Institute of Complementary Medicine (NICM) with the University of Western Sydney. He is a consultant to the Complementary and Alternative Industry and has co-authored both national and international reviews.