Diane Hannemann, PhD is biochemist-biophysicist with a passion for understanding how the body communicates at the molecular level and how these systems can be supported to optimize health and healing. In 1996, these questions inspired her to leave her career in marketing communications to return to college for a BA in Chemistry from Purdue University followed by a MPhil and PhD in Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry from Yale University where she researched how a motor protein uses chemical energy to transport materials along tracks inside a cell.

Thriving on connecting people and ideas, Diane has collaborated widely to improve health outcomes for all. At the State Department, she led US delegations to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, creating regional science and health initiatives, including the establishment of a global food safety public-private partnership. In the NIH Office of the Director, she collaborated across NIH Institutes, other federal agencies and the White House, to analyze emerging biomedical research issues to inform federal policy decisions.

Most recently, at the Institute for Integrative Health in Baltimore, Diane led an international, multidisciplinary research network to catalyze new paradigms for health, healing and well-being.   

Diane’s current efforts include cross-sectoral engagement and projects to increase quality research and translation of the Feldenkrais Method principles – a mindful movement education practice — to innovate approaches for pain management, neuro-musculoskeletal rehabilitation, and healthy aging.

To feed her spirit, she plays in the garden soil, tends to all creatures wild and domestic, and teaches Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement ® classes.