Clinician members across 47 countries
Medical Light Association · Est. 2007, Boston
Advancing the science and clinical practice of medical-grade light therapy worldwide.
The only international, clinician-led body dedicated to standardizing evidence-based phototherapy protocols, certifying practitioners, and translating peer-reviewed light-medicine research into bedside practice.
By the numbers · FY2023
A measurable footprint in medical phototherapy worldwide.
Active CPPC credentialed practitioners
PubMed-indexed papers citing MLA guidance since 2009
Active clinical practice guidelines on a 24-month review cycle
Signature programs
Four clinician-led assets the field relies on.
MLA publishes the only Scopus-indexed specialty journal in the field, issues the world's first Clinical Phototherapy Practice Certification, authors the guidelines referenced by the AAD and WHO, and runs the largest adverse-event registry for light-based medical devices.
Flagship · Est. 2009
Journal of Medical Phototherapy
The field's only Scopus-indexed specialty title. 1,840+ peer-reviewed articles, with a 5x citation growth rate over the past decade.
Read the latest issue →Certification · First issued 2014
CPPC Credential
Clinical Phototherapy Practice Certification — 6,200+ active clinicians in 47 countries. Portfolio-based exam, rolling recertification.
Review the pathway →Evidence
Clinical Guidelines
14 active guidelines updated on a 24-month evidence-review cycle. Referenced by the AAD, NHS, and WHO in dermatology and wound-care policy.
See the guideline library →Safety
Adverse-Event Registry
312,000+ patient outcomes tracked since 2016 across light-based devices. Open to member institutions for benchmarking.
Registry methodology →From the Journal
Recent editor-picked abstracts.
A live, peer-reviewed venue — not a static archive. The Journal of Medical Phototherapy accepts clinical trials, mechanistic studies, and guideline implementation reports from MLA members and the wider photomedicine community.
Narrowband UVB dosing intervals in plaque psoriasis: a 1,240-patient multicenter analysis.
Authors report non-inferiority of a twice-weekly narrowband UVB protocol versus the standard thrice-weekly schedule, with reductions in cumulative dose and clinic visit burden. Results inform the upcoming MLA Psoriasis Guideline update.
Hernández et al., J Med Photother. 16(4):211–224 · 2024
Mitochondrial cytochrome-c oxidase response curves in photobiomodulation: toward dose individualization.
A bench-to-bedside review synthesizing 312 dose-response studies, proposing a tissue-specific optical parameter set that practicing clinicians can derive without specialized equipment.
Okonkwo & Vasquez, J Med Photother. 16(3):145–168 · 2024
Translating MLA wound-care phototherapy guidance into a regional NHS protocol: 18-month outcomes.
A regional NHS trust reports on adapting MLA's chronic-wound phototherapy recommendation into a frontline protocol, documenting adherence rates, dressing-change intervals, and healing trajectories across 412 patients.
Brennan et al., J Med Photother. 16(3):169–186 · 2024
The MLA Phototherapy Clinical Guidelines provide the most rigorously maintained, evidence-graded recommendations in our field. They are referenced in our dermatology policy documents alongside the highest-grade specialty society guidance.
Certification pathway
Four credential tiers, one evidence standard.
Built around the Clinical Phototherapy Practice Certification — the world's first specialty credential in medical phototherapy, issued by MLA since 2014. Active credentials now held by 6,200+ clinicians across 47 countries.
CPPC · Practitioner
Clinical Phototherapy Practice Certification
For board-eligible and board-certified clinicians who administer PBM, UV-B, or photodynamic therapy. Portfolio-based exam with rolling recertification every five years.
CPPC-F · Advanced
CPPC Fellow
For CPPC holders who lead protocol design, supervise trainees, or serve as institutional phototherapy medical directors. Requires peer-reviewed contribution and an institutional letter of sponsorship.
Institutional
Institutional Member Program
240+ member institutions receive MLA guideline bundles, registry benchmarking reports, and priority access to the annual Photomedicine Fellowship. For academic medical centers, hospital dermatology units, and wound-care programs.
Reviewer
Standards & Compliance Reviewer
Credentialed clinicians who serve on MLA's Standards & Compliance Council — the body that has reviewed 480+ phototherapy devices for FDA 510(k) and EU MDR submission readiness since 2016.