Thomas L. Creer, Ph.D. has been teaching patients how to manage their chronic illnesses for the past 40 years.

He began his self-management work at the Children’s Asthma Research Institute and Hospital, later a division of the National Asthma Center (NAC), a residential treatment center for childhood asthma in Denver, Colorado. He and his colleagues there performed a number of studies on the topic of self-management.

When the facility closed, Dr. Creer moved his research to Ohio University, where he expanded it to include not only asthma, but also chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, and adherence in renal transplantation.

Tom has authored or co-authored over 200 articles and chapters, as well as 10 books. These writings have been translated into a dozen or more languages. He has also described the research at meetings and conferences throughout the United States and in 14 foreign countries.