Dr John McDonald PhD is an Australian acupuncturist, lecturer, academic, writer, researcher, mentor, conference speaker and advocate. Beginning his studies of acupuncture in 1971, Dr McDonald has been an active participant in the educational and professional development of the Chinese Medicine profession in Australia for over 50 years, leading to Australia being the first Western nation to introduce national registration of Chinese Medicine as a health profession, including acupuncturists and Chinese herbal medicine practitioners.

The many roles Dr McDonald has played include Founding President of the Australian Council for Chinese Medicine Education, Dean/Head of Faculty of Traditional Chinese Medicine at a number of colleges, Course Assessment Panel Member and Degree Monitor for the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, member of the Acupuncture Expert Reference Group for the Accident Compensation Corporation (New Zealand), temporary advisor to the World Health Organisation Western Pacific Region Office on the Acupuncture Point Location Standardisation process, Vice President for Research for the Acupuncture Now Foundation (California), Director and Research Committee Chair for Acupuncture Now Australia Ltd.

Dr McDonald has been an invited speaker at World Acupuncture Day and World Scientific and Cultural Dialogue on Acupuncture in Paris in 2018, and at numerous conferences around the world including Estoril, Portugal; Boston, Kansas City, San Francisco, USA; Wellington, Auckland and Taupo, New Zealand; Bologna and Milan, Italy; and Seoul, South Korea. He also briefly taught Do’in and Tai Ji Quan in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. Dr McDonald’s three great passions are acupuncture history, acupuncture research and Brazilian music.

Dr McDonald's PhD research was on immune system changes in response to acupuncture in adults with persistent allergic rhinitis, a study which published two narrative reviews on the anti-inflammatory and anti-hyperalgesic effects of acupuncture, as well as a randomised controlled trial. Dr McDonald is co-author of Zang Fu Syndromes: Differential Diagnosis and Treatment (also published in Portuguese), the Acupuncture Evidence Project and author of Acupuncture Point Dynamics (Vols 1,2 & 3). Dr McDonald is a peer reviewer for several journals and Editorial Board Member for Perspectives on Integrative Medicine.