Richard Charles Niemtzow MD, PhD, MPH

Dr. Richard Charles Niemtzow, MD, PhD, MPH is a retired Air Force colonel and was the first full-time physician acupuncturist in the Armed Forces at Andrews U.S. Air Force.

He established the medical acupuncture clinic at Andrews Air Force Base; delivers medical acupuncture to service members at Andrews, the Pentagon, White House, National Naval Medical Center, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center; and is the consultant on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) to the Air Force Surgeon General.

Dr. Niemtzow may be best known as the developer of "battlefield acupuncture." He originally conceived this technique as a way to deliver pain relief through acupuncture as quickly and efficiently as possible in combat and other military situations. It is growing in popularity in both military and civilian medical settings internationally. Dr. Niemtzow has taught it to many clinicians, including in Europe and Asia.

Dr. Niemtzow received his medical degree from the University of Montpellier in France, his Ph.D. in biological sciences from Pacific Western University, and his M.P.H. from the Medical College of Wisconsin. He studied acupuncture at the University of California at Los Angeles Medical School. His medical specialty is radiation oncology.