Kimball Atwood

This article is about the physician and skeptic. For his father, the geneticist, see Kimball Chase Atwood III.

Kimball Chase Atwood IV
Atwood at CSICon in 2012
CitizenshipUSA
Occupation(s)Anesthesiologist, Internal Medicine, Assistant Clinical Professor
Known forScientific skepticism and criticism of naturopathy
RelativesKimball C. Atwood III (father)
Medical career
ProfessionAnesthesiology, Assistant Professor
InstitutionsNewton-Wellesley Hospital and Tufts University School of Medicine

Kimball C. Atwood IV is an American medical doctor and researcher from Newton, Massachusetts. He is retired as an assistant clinical professor at Tufts University School of Medicine and anesthesiologist at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

An active skeptic, Atwood has served as an associate editor of the journal Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine and as associate editor at Science-Based Medicine. He is also co-editor of Naturowatch, one of Quackwatch's affiliated sites.[1][2][3] In 2010, Atwood was elected as one of sixteen Fellows of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.[4]

Atwood is best known as a critic of naturopathic medicine. His long term interest in pseudoscience was piqued in 2000 by a nursing conference held at his hospital where therapeutic touch and other alternative healing practices were promoted as effective treatments for pleural mesothelioma. Atwood represented the opposition to naturopathic physicians licensing in his state and was the primary author of the minority report opposing such licensure in Massachusetts.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Naturowatch_home was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference SBM_editor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference SIM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fellow of CSI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Naturowatch_bio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).