Research & Development

Natural Factors Research & Product Development

We start by analyzing the health needs as expressed by our customers. We consult with our product development and marketing experts and conduct appropriate consultation with our team of research scientists, naturopaths and formulators. In this way we create the blueprint for an effective health product – and then we go the extra step and add the enhancements that will make it ‘uniquely Natural Factors.’

Our Natural Factors Science and Medical Advisory teams help us ensure that the products we produce meet the highest standards for health enhancement - products that work, for your good health.

Dr. Michael Murray, Director of Product Development & Education, Natural Factors
Dr. Michael Murray, our Director of Product Development and Education, is widely regarded as one of the world's leading authorities on natural medicine. He is a graduate, faculty member and serves on the Board of Trustees of Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington.

Dr. Murray has written dozens of books and is co-author of A Textbook of Natural Medicine, an authoritative work on naturopathic medicine for physicians, as well as the consumer version - The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. His latest book, The Immune Factor, is all about how you can live disease-free with a strengthened immune system.

Dr. Michael R. Lyon, M.D., is a practicing physician and medical researcher and one of the foremost authorities on the science behind complementary medicine. Dr. Lyon is the Medical Director of the Canadian Center for Functional Medicine. He has conducted numerous clinical trials on natural health products in cooperation with various North American universities and is a consultant to the biotechnology and natural health products industries.

He served for four years as an Olympic Team physician and was head of a National Sport Science Committee for Sport Canada. He has lectured extensively on ADHD, diabetes, preventive medicine, sports medicine, nutritional medicine and toxicology. Dr. Lyon is also on the teaching faculty at the Institute for Functional Medicine in Gig Harbor, Washington.

In addition to his current book, "Is Your Child's Brain Starving? Food Not Drugs for Life and Learning," Dr. Lyon also authored the book "Healing the Hyperactive Brain Through the New Science of Functional Medicine," and he wrote the chapter on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in the upcoming 3rd Edition of the Textbook of Natural Medicine (Edited by M. Murray and J. Pizzorno).

Dr. Richard Barton, Ph.D. Head of Research, Factors Laboratories
Dr. Barton holds a BSc degree Honours in Chemistry from the University of British Columbia and a Ph.D. after working on the synthesis of organic compounds (nitrate esters) and the study of their structure through circularly polarized light. Dr. Barton is a faculty member of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of BC. He has focused on research involving Echinacea, St. John’s Wort and other herbal products and has helped Natural Factors develop standardization methods using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); isolate and identify therapeutically active components in plants, and improve our methods for extracting phytochemicals from plants. Dr. Barton heads up Natural Factors Echinamide research project.

Dr. Rudy Bauer, Ph.D., Heinrich-Heine University
Dr. Rudy Bauer, of the Heinrich-Heine University of Dusseldorf, Germany, is the world's foremost expert on echinacea. In dozens of research projects, he has documented the characteristics of echinacea's many species, the variances among echinacea preparations, and their inconsistent effectiveness at enhancing immunity. With this expertise and understanding of this important herbal supplement, Dr. Bauer has contributed greatly to Natural Factors' ground-breaking research in herbal standardization and in the development of the patent-pending ECHINAMIDE extract for immune enhancement.

Dr. Thomas Crook III, Ph.D.
Dr. Thomas Crook III is an expert on ways to enhance memory and mental performance. Although he has extensive experience with psychiatric drugs, he has found and studied the potential of nutritional interventions to improve alertness, memory, and concentration as well as for alleviating or prevent learning and attention disorders in both adults and children. Dr. Crook is co-author of The Memory Cure, and has written many other books including the PS Factor about the use of PhosphatidylSerine for enhancing mental health and capabilities. Dr. Crook is a valued member of the Natural Factors Science Team.

Chuck Chang, B.Sc. (Chemistry/ Biochemistry) Research & Development Coordinator – Factors Laboratories Ltd.
Chuck Chang graduated from the Combined Honours Chemistry and Biochemistry Programme of the University of British Columbia. Chuck’s experience in analyzing and isolating active ingredients in herbs allows him to comment on the scientific merit of product claims, assess the potentials for various herbs and to make suggestions for planned chemical and clinical studies.

Natural Factors continues to research various products to ensure that they are made to the highest quality possible. Natural Factors’ Research and Development team develops testing methods to analyze the purity and potency of different products. Also, the team of scientists examines various ways of improving the manufacturing process of current products to increase yield, potency, and product stability.