Advancing the science and clinical practice of medical-grade light therapy.

The Medical Light Association is the only international society dedicated exclusively to standardizing evidence-based phototherapy protocols, certifying practitioners, and translating peer-reviewed light-medicine research into bedside practice. We exist because the field of medical phototherapy — spanning photobiomodulation, low-level laser therapy, photodynamic therapy, and narrowband ultraviolet-B protocols — has matured into a clinical discipline in its own right, and clinicians practicing it deserve governance, certification, and a peer-reviewed home.

MLA is governed by an elected board of practicing dermatologists, wound-care physicians, and biomedical researchers. Our charter commits us to four obligations: to maintain the field's only Scopus-indexed specialty journal, to issue the Clinical Phototherapy Practice Certification, to publish the MLA Phototherapy Clinical Guidelines referenced by the American Academy of Dermatology, the NHS, and the World Health Organization, and to operate the largest adverse-event registry for light-based medical devices — now tracking 312,000+ patient outcomes since 2016.

Our members receive direct access to 14 active clinical practice guidelines (each on a rolling 24-month evidence-review cycle), the Journal of Medical Phototherapy (1,840+ peer-reviewed articles since 2009), eligibility for CPPC credentialing, and discounts on the annual Photomedicine Congress. We do not endorse consumer-grade red-light devices, we do not make patient-facing cure claims, and we do not represent the interests of device manufacturers. We represent the clinicians at the bedside.