Ann Baldwin, PhD

Dr. Baldwin obtained her Bachelors degree in Physics from University of Bristol, UK, her Masters degree in Radiation Physics from University of London, UK and her PhD in Physiology from Imperial College, University of London. She completed a two-year postdoc at College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, NY and then entered the faculty at the University of Arizona. After a long career researching into the mechanisms of macromolecular transport between blood and tissue, including in vivo testing of hemoglobin-based blood substitutes, her interests turned to the physiological effects of mental and emotional stress. She now quantitatively evaluates the effectiveness of various methods commonly used to reduce stress focusing on heart rate variability and peripheral blood flow as outcome parameters for autonomic function. Her studies include the use of equine-human interactions, Reiki, music, laughter yoga and heart focused breathing. She leads one of the few research teams in the world that studies synchronous changes in heart rate variability of horse-human pairs to determine whether physiological information is being transferred between species. Dr. Baldwin also serves as Editor-in-Chief for the Center of Reiki Research and maintains its curated webpage of all peer-reviewed, published, scientific research studies involving Reiki.