Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine

Speakers

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  Lise
  Alschuler, ND, FABNO

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  Lise Alschuler, ND, FABNO

  Lise Alschuler, ND, eMBA, FABNO is the President & CEO of Sonoran University of Health. She is Professor at Sonoran University and retains her rank as a Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Arizona where she was previously the Associate Director of the Fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine. She received her undergraduate degree from Brown University. Dr. Alschuler completed her naturopathic medical training at Bastyr University where she also completed her residency in general naturopathic medicine. She is board certified in naturopathic oncology. She completed an executive Masters of Business in 2023. She is co-author of Definitive Guide to Cancer, now in its 3rd edition, and Definitive Guide to Thriving After Cancer. Outside of her professional commitments, she enjoys early morning walks with her two dogs, relaxing outdoor evenings with her spouse, honing her golf game, and cultivating a deeper sense of purpose and authenticity.

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  Randy
  Aronson, VMD, CCRT, CVA

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  Randy Aronson, VMD, CCRT, CVA

  Dr. Randy Aronson graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1980 after being awarded the top honor of his class, the Leonard Pearson Prize.  He completed a rotating internship at the small animal hospital in medicine and surgery 1981. Dr. Aronson started the Animal Care Center of Green Valley in 1984 and sold it to his partner in 2005. P.A.W.S. Veterinary Center, his current practice was started with his wife, Dr. Geren Thurston, in 2008 and employs thirty-two in staff and five veterinarians.  In 2011 they won the American Animal Hospital Practice of the Year award and the Veterinary Economics Merit Hospital winner.

   Dr. Aronson utilizes an integrative approach to diagnostics and therapies, combining Western or allopathic medicine with holistic modalities.  He completed the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society's acupuncture course, numerous Chinese herbal courses, and many traditional Chinese medicine and nutrition programs. He is certified by the Canine Rehabilitation Institute to perform physical therapy on cats and dogs. He utilizes food therapy, ozone, pulsed electromagnetic therapy, shock wave, therapeutic laser, and underwater treadmill to help attain health and wellness for his patients.

  Dr. Aronson is a keynote speaker and lecturer. Recently he has been speaking to the students of veterinary schools about utilizing integrative approaches in everyday veterinary medicine. He also enjoys educating pet parents on wellness and longevity.

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  Chodo
  Campbell

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  Chodo Campbell,

  Sensei Chodo Robert Campbell, GC-C NYZC Co-Founder, Vice President, & Guiding Teacher Zen teacher and co-founder, with Koshin Paley Ellison, of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, an educational non-profit dedicated to integrating contemplative approaches to care and contemporary medicine. Through Chodo’s leadership and vision, NYZC has developed transformational, collaborative training experiences: the Foundations in Contemplative Care and the Contemplative Medicine Fellowship. Today, New York Zen Center’s teachings and practices are internationally recognized — and have touched the lives of tens of thousands of individuals. Chodo is a dynamic, grounded, and visionary leader and teacher: he has traveled extensively throughout the U.S. teaching and presenting at various institutions. He has worked with those living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. as well as Zimbabwe and South Africa. Chodo's public programs have introduced thousands to the practices of mindful and compassionate care of the living and dying. Sixty-thousand people listen to his podcasts each year. His passion lies in bereavement counseling for those suffering with the complexities of death & dying and aging. His work is focused on advocating for change in the way our healthcare institutions work with end of life support and care. Chodo is widely recognized as a trailblazer and authority on contemplative care. He and Koshin Paley Ellison are featured in Into the Night: Portraits of Life and Death, a documentary about how we face our mortality and are also the focus of a forthcoming documentary about Buddhism in America for Dutch television. Chodo’s work has been featured in the New York Times, PBS, Tricycle, Parabola and other media outlets. He is a recognized Soto Zen Teacher with the American Zen Teachers Association, White Plum Asanga, and Soto Zen Buddhist Association. Academic Appointments Chodo is part of the core faculty for the Buddhist Track in the Masters in Pastoral Care and Counseling with NYZC’s educational partner, University of the West. He is also on the faculty of the University of Arizona Medical School’s Center for Integrative Medicine’s Integrative Medicine Fellowship and the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine in San Diego.

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  Ann Marie
  Chiasson, MD MPH ABOIM

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  Ann Marie Chiasson, MD MPH ABOIM

  Fellowship 2004

  Oncology Working Group

  Phoenix Local Group

  Ann Marie Chiasson, MD, MPH , is the Director of Education and the Fellowship at the University of Arizona Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine and an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the University of Arizona.  She is board certified in Integrative Medicine, Family Medicine, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine.  Dr. Chiasson currently serves as the President of the American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS) and is a past chair of the American Board of Integrative Medicine.  Dr. Chiasson graduated with honors from Dalhousie School of Medicine in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and completed a residency in Family Medicine at the University of British Columbia.  She completed a fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona and a master's in public health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  She has practiced Integrative Family Medicine, hospice and palliative care, and addiction Medicine in the United States and Canada.  Stimulated by a life-long interest in chronic pain management, mind body medicine and meditation, Dr. Chiasson has studied extensively with indigenous healers in Mexico.  She has authored Energy Healing- The Essentials of Self Care (Sounds True, 2013) and co-authored Self-Healing with Energy Medicine with Dr. Andrew Weil (Sounds True, 2009). Dr. Chiasson teaches internationally on topics in Integrative Medicine, Pain Management, Mind-body Medicine and Energy Medicine.

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  Ying-hui
  Chou, Sc.D.

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  Ying-hui Chou, Sc.D.

  Dr. Ying-hui Chou is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Arizona and holds joint appointments with the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute as well as the Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs and the BIO5 Institute. She leads the Brain Imaging and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Laboratory, where her research has substantially contributed to the understanding of cognitive and clinical neuroscience, particularly in the context of aging and neurodegenerative diseases. Her lab leverages a range of techniques including TMS, MRI, EEG, EMG, and neuropsychological testing. The primary aims are to develop and refine MRI-guided TMS protocols to potentially improve memory functions, and to identify TMS-based biomarkers for early Alzheimer's disease detection and for predicting treatment outcomes. Dr. Chou's work has been acknowledged through her leadership in numerous research projects funded by institutions such as the NIH, DoD, Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium, and the University of Arizona.

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  Christopher
  Gardner, PhD

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  Christopher Gardner, PhD

  Christopher Gardner holds a PhD in Nutrition Science and is the Rehnborg Farquhar [Ren-borg Far-kwar] Professor of Medicine at Stanford. He is the current chair of the American Heart Association Nutrition Committee. For ~30 years his research has examined what to eat and what to avoid for optimal health. This includes more than 20 nutrition intervention trials conducted with >2,000 participants. Recently he has collaborated on over a half dozen human nutrition intervention trials with Dr. Justin Sonnenburg, a Stanford microbiologist. These recent studies examine the relationships of the diet with microbial diversity and inflammation/immune function.

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  Celia
  Hildebrand, DAOM, LAc

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  Celia Hildebrand, DAOM, LAc

  Celia Hildebrand, DAOM, LAc has worked in the field of health care delivery for almost 40 years. She has been a student of body/mind connections and practitioner of therapeutic modalities since her teenage years but especially after a biking accident at the age of 23 resulted in extensive physical injuries. She earned both a Master (2002) and clinical Doctorate (2015) in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, with focused study and clinical practice in trauma, rehabilitation, and community health. In 2019 Dr. Hildebrand was awarded a Fulbright to develop an East Asian medicine curriculum to teach acupuncture for pain, PTSD, and trauma in western Ukraine. Since 2022 she has travelled frequently to Ukraine to teach and practice within universities and hospitals. In July 2024 she received the Rosalind Franklin Society award in Science and Medicine. Dr. Hildebrand has been a professor, academic dean and chair of clinical education for East Asian medical schools and most recently has practiced within the Veterans' Administration hospital system. She is on faculty with the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, and finds a deep appreciation for the Quixotic quest of tilting at windmills.  

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  Mohab
  Ibrahim, MD

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  Mohab Ibrahim, MD

  Dr. Mohab Ibrahim earned his Bachelor of Science in biochemistry with a minor in mathematics while participating in the Undergraduate Biology Research Program at the University of Arizona. He then earned his Master’s and a Doctorate in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Arizona, focusing on neuropathic pain. After completing graduate school, he joined the University of Arizona Medical College and graduated with a medical doctorate in 2008. He joined the Department of Surgery at the University of Arizona for his internship. Dr. Ibrahim continued his training in Boston, where he joined the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston for his residency in The Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine. He then earned his chronic pain management fellowship from the Anesthesiology department at The Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. After completing his training, Dr. Ibrahim returned to the University of Arizona, where he is now a tenured professor of Anesthesiology, pharmacology, and Neurosurgery. He is the director of the chronic pain clinic and the chronic pain fellowship at the Banner Medical Center-University of Arizona and the medical director of the Center for Comprehensive Pain and Addiction. In addition to the University of Arizona and Banner Health, Dr. Ibrahim cares for veterans as a pain physician at the Southern Arizona Veteran Administration Health Care System Hospital in Tucson. Besides his clinical work, Dr. Ibrahim has an active research laboratory addressing missing gaps in our knowledge about chronic pain with several emphases, including Photobiomodulation. His research trajectory aims at translating animal research into clinical treatments. He is currently funded by the NIH, DoD, and the VA.

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  Kristen
  Jackson Banister, MA, LPC, SEP

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  Kristen Jackson Banister, MA, LPC, SEP

  Kristen Jackson Banister MA, LPC, is trained to guide people in movement and settling - inviting dancers to witness themselves and others in the process. A licensed Somatic Psychotherapist, Open Floor International Teacher, certified Syzygy Outreach Facilitator, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and creator of Flagstaff Freemotion and co-creator of Dance Move Connect in Tucson, she sees practices of embodiment through dance as a way of remembering the human connection to the natural world, to one another and as a path to knowing oneself with greater depth and clarity.

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  Danube
  Jacobs, LAc

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  Danube Jacobs, LAc

  Danube Jacobs is a licensed acupuncturist, earning her Masters degree in Chinese Medicine from Oregon State of Oriental Medicine in 2010. She has been a Qi Gong instructor for the past 15 years, including 2 years on Holland America's prestigious World Cruises, and as an adjunct instructor at AZCIM since 2014. She practices and teaches Turtle Longevity, One Thousands Hands Buddha and ZY Qi gong forms. She lives and practices acupuncture in Tucson.

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  Anthony
  Kaveh, MD

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  Anthony Kaveh, MD

  Fellowship 2021 Fall

  Dr. Kaveh is an anesthesiologist and graduate of the AWCIM fellowship. Inspired by his work exploring altered states of consciousness in his patients under anesthesia, he shares transformational stories across social media with over 800,000 followers. He is the medical director of Clarus Health, a holistic IV Ketamine healing center in San Francisco.

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  Mikhail
  Kogan, MD

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  Mikhail Kogan, MD

  Dr Kogan is a leader in the newly-established field of Integrative Geriatrics. He is the chief editor of the first definitive textbook of the field entitled ?Integrative Geriatric Medicine?, published by Oxford University Press as part of Andrew Weil Integrative Medicine Library series and is frequent speaker at a variety of international conferences on the topics of Integrative Medicine, Geriatrics, healthy aging, as well as medical cannabis. While Dr Kogan's main medical cannabis expertise is in treating older patients and palliating symptoms at end of life he also treats wide arrange of internal medicine problems from chronic GI problems to cancers where use of medical cannabis can be very beneficial. In October 2021 Dr Kogan in collaboration with Dr. Joan Liebmann-Smith and Pinguin Random Publishing House published Medical Marijuana, Dr Kogan's Evidence-Based guide to the health benefits of cannabis and CBD. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/636500/medical-marijuana-by-mikhail-kogan-md-and-joan-liebmann-smith-phd-foreword-by-andrew-weil/ Dr. Kogan currently serves as medical director of the GW Center for Integrative Medicine, associate professor of medicine in division of Geriatric and Palliative Care, and associate director of the Geriatrics and Integrative Medicine Fellowship Programs and co-host of GW Integrative Medicine Podcast. Dr Kogan is also the founder and the executive director of AIM Health Institute, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that provides integrative medicine services to low-income and terminally ill patients regardless of their ability to pay.

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  Vivian
  Kominos, MD, FACC, ABOIM

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  Vivian Kominos, MD, FACC, ABOIM

  Fellowship 2007

  Vivian A. Kominos, MD, FACC, a nationally recognized clinician and educator in integrative cardiology, is a graduate of St Louis University School of Medicine. She completed her internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in her home state of New Jersey. She is board certified in both Integrative Medicine and Cardiology. She has practiced cardiology for over 35 years and has concentrated on integrative medicine and integrative cardiology for the past 15 years. She is Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine (AWCIM) where she completed her integrative medicine fellowship in 2007. She is a founding member of the American Board of Integrative Medicine where she served as vice chair and remained an active board member until 2020. 

  Besides being a mentor for the AWCIM fellowship, she is intimately involved in the fellowship educational curricula, authoring modules on topics ranging from cardiovascular health and disease to nutrition, mind body medicine, and obesity. She is a speaker and educator for her peers, medical students and residents, nurses, allied health professionals and the community. She enjoys volunteering at the Parker Family Health Center in Red Bank, New Jersey. She loves running, kayaking, cooking and spending time with family and friends. Her greatest joy is her 2 1/2 year old granddaughter. 

   

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  Victoria
  Maizes, MD

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  Victoria Maizes, MD

  Fellowship Residential

  Residential Class of 2000

  Dr. Victoria Maizes is an internationally recognized leader and innovator in the field of integrative medicine. As the Founding Executive Director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona—where she also serves as Professor of Medicine and Public Health—she has dedicated her career to transforming health care and empowering individuals to live healthier lives.

  For more than two decades, Dr. Maizes has been at the forefront of integrative health, guiding the evolution of a groundbreaking program into a world-renowned Center of Excellence. Under her leadership, the Center has developed premier educational programs that now train over 1,000 health professionals each year. These physicians, nurses, and allied practitioners collectively provide integrative care to millions worldwide.

  Named one of the world's "25 Intelligent Optimists" by ODE Magazine, Dr. Maizes is a highly sought-after speaker at conferences worldwide. She is the co-host of the acclaimed podcast Body of Wonder with Dr. Andrew Weil, where they explore the latest advances in integrative health and healing.

  Dr. Maizes edited the Oxford University Press textbook Integrative Women's Health and wrote Be Fruitful: The Essential Guide to Maximizing Fertility and Giving Birth to a Healthy Child. Her forthcoming book, Heal Faster: Unlock Your Body's Rapid Recovery Reflex, will be published by Simon & Schuster in 2026.

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  Amita
  Nathwani, MA (Ayur)

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  Amita Nathwani, MA (Ayur)

  Amita Nathwani, is an Ayurvedic Medicine Practitioner, educator, and integrative health thought leader with over 25 years of clinical experience. She currently has a private practice where she provides patient-centered, root-cause care. Her unique ability to bridge Eastern and Western paradigms has made her a sought-after teacher and mentor in the field of Integrative Medicine. Amita is the author of three books, including titles on Ayurvedic cooking, classical medical principles, and spiritual healing, and her work has been featured in both academic and community health settings. As fellowship faculty member at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, Amita brings a rigorous, yet deeply intuitive understanding of Ayurveda, grounded in its classical texts and enhanced by modern clinical insight. She is especially known for her ability to communicate Ayurvedic principles using a shared medical lexicon—translating traditional concepts —while fiercely preserving the integrity, lineage, and systemic intelligence of this ancient science. Her mentorship has empowered hundreds of practitioners to integrate Ayurveda into modern clinical practice without reducing it to a set of tools, and her commitment to equity, evidence-informed care, and cultural competence continues to shape the future of integrative medicine education.

   

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  James
  Nestor

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  James Nestor,

  James Nestor is an author and journalist who has written for Scientific American, Outside, The New York Times, and more. His latest book, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, was released in May 2020 by Riverhead/Penguin Random House and was an instant New York Times and London Sunday Times bestseller. Breath explores how the human species has lost the ability to breathe properly--and how to get it back. To date, Breath has sold more than 2.5 million copies and and has been translated into more than 35 languages. Breath was awarded the Best General Nonfiction Book by the American Society of Journalists and Authors and was a Finalist for Science Book of the Year by the Royal Society. Nestor has spoken at Stanford Medical School, Yale School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, the United Nations, and more. He lives and breathes in San Francisco. Website: Mrjamesnestor.com. Instagram: instagram.com/mrjamesnestor

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  Koshin
  Paley Ellison, MFA, LMSW, DMIN

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  Koshin Paley Ellison, MFA, LMSW, DMIN

  Sensei Koshin Paley Ellison, MFA, LMSW, DMIN NYZC Co-Founder, President, & Guiding Teacher Author, Zen teacher, and Jungian psychotherapist Koshin Paley Ellison is recognized as one of today’s most thoughtful and trusted leaders in the contemplative medicine movement. With his husband, Chodo Campbell he co-founded the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, an educational non-profit dedicated to integrating contemplative approaches to care with contemporary medicine. Through Koshin’s leadership and vision, NYZC has developed transformational, collaborative training experiences: the Foundations in Contemplative Care and the Contemplative Medicine Fellowship. Today, New York Zen Center’s teachings and practices are internationally recognized — and have touched the lives of tens of thousands of individuals. As a renowned thought leader in contemplative care, Koshin’s work has been featured in the New York Times, PBS, CBS Sunday Morning and other media outlets. Koshin and Chodo were featured in Into the Night: Portraits of Life and Death, a documentary about facing our mortality and are also the focus of a forthcoming documentary about Buddhism in America for Dutch television. Koshin is the author of Untangled: Walking the Eightfold Path to Clarity, Courage, and Compassion (Balance/Hachette, 2022); Wholehearted: Slow Down, Help Out, Wake Up (Wisdom Publications, 2019), and the co-editor of Awake at Bedside: Contemplative Teachings on Palliative and End of Life Care (Wisdom Publications, 2016). Koshin began his formal Zen training in 1987, and he is a recognized Soto Zen Teacher by the American Zen Teachers Association, White Plum Asanga, and Soto Zen Buddhist Association. He serves on the Board of Directors at the Soto Zen Buddhist Association, New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care and Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. He has completed six years of training at the Jungian Psychoanalytic Association as well as clinical contemplative training at both Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center and New York Presbyterian Medical Center. Koshin has served as the co-director of Contemplative Care Services of the Department of Integrative Medicine and as the chaplaincy supervisor for the Pain and Palliative Care Department at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center, where he also served on the Medical Ethics Committee for eighteen years. Koshin is currently on the faculty of the University of Arizona Medical School’s Center for Integrative Medicine’s Integrative Medicine Fellowship, on Faculty of the Integrative Medicine Fellowship of the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine, and he is the visiting professor at the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics, of the University of Texas Health Science Center of Houston Medical School. Koshin is part of the core faculty for the Master of Arts in Buddhist Spiritual Care (MABSC), a collaboration between NYZC and University of the West (UWest).

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  Jaimie
  Perkunas, DPT, C-IAYT

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  Jaimie Perkunas, DPT, C-IAYT

  Jaimie Perkunas DPT, C-IAYT is a physical therapist, yoga therapist, and author who loves to teach people how to heal themselves with a combination of yoga and physical therapy. Jaimie's passion for physical therapy developed when she was 15 years old. Her dream to become a physical therapist came true in 2005. She has worked in several healthcare settings where she has incorporated yoga principles into her sessions. After completing her yoga teacher training in 2010, she found within herself the permission and capacity to combine yoga and physical therapy together. Jaimie takes the opportunity to tailor her teachings to connect to her student's body, mind, and breath. Learn more at www.yogaistherapy.com

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  Amy
  Price Neff, MD

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  Amy Price Neff, MD

  Fellowship 2019 Fall

  Amy is the founder of MindStream Integrative Medicine, a full-spectrum integrative medicine practice in Nashville. Trained in internal and family medicine at the University of Virginia, Amy has done fellowships in mental health and substance abuse treatment, integrative medicine through the University of Arizona (class of 2019), a fellowship in Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy through the Integrative Psychiatry Institute and currently training with the Metabolic Terrain Institute in Integrative Oncology. Her medical career has spanned academics, access to care for the medically indigent and non-English speaking community, psychiatric practice, primary care, and has been focused on the pursuit of well-being. In addition to healthcare, Amy has worked in both private and non-profit business sectors to promote human flourishing. She founded a high-animal welfare butcher shop and restaurant in Norfolk, Virginia called Pendulum Fine Meats. She has served in many capacities for A Greener World, the international non-profit food labelling and animal welfare agency dedicated to helping consumers avoid genetically modified food ingredients and support high-welfare, environmentally sustainable food production and regenerative agriculture, currently serving as President of the Board. Amy and her husband, Eric, raise cattle with their 3 daughters.

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  George
  Schatz, MD, ABOIM, IFMCP

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  George Schatz, MD, ABOIM, IFMCP

  Fellowship 2020 Spring

  IMER Fall 2017

  ACLAIM 2023

  Foundations in Integrative Health (FIH) 2024

  I was born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, attending Hiram College in Hiram Ohio for my Undergraduate studies in Chemistry, followed shortly by Medical School at SUNY Stonybrook in Long Island NY. Upon graduation from my Family Medicine Residency in Tucson Arizona, I completed a 1 year Residential Fellowship as well as the 2 year online Fellowship program through the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, becoming Board Certified in Integrative Medicine through the ABOIM in 2022. I also have completed a certification in Functional Medicine through the IFM and practiced at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine for 2 years in 2019-2021.

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  Scott
  Shannon, MD

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  Scott Shannon, MD

  Scott has been a student of consciousness since his thesis on that topic at the University of Arizona in the 1970s. Following medical school, MDMA assisted psychotherapy became part of his practice before this medicine was scheduled in 1985. He completed a psychiatry residency at a Columbia program in New York. Scott also completed a child/adolescent psychiatry fellowship at the University of New Mexico. Scott has published four books on holistic and integrative mental health including the first textbook for this field in 2001. He founded Wholeness Center, the largest integrative mental health center in the US, in 2010. Scott is a past president of two national medical organizations. He served as a site Principal Investigator and therapist for the Phase III trial of MDMA assisted psychotherapy for PTSD. Scott has also published numerous articles about cannabidiol in mental health. He is currently involved with 5-MEO-DMT and LSD research. Scott co-founded the Psychedelic Research and Training Institute (PRATI) to train professionals in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Scott served as the initial CEO for the Board of Psychedelic Medicine and Therapies in 2021. He lectures all over the world to professional groups interested in a paradigm shifting perspective about transformative care.

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  Tayma
  Shaya, M.D. ABOIM, IFMCP

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  Tayma Shaya, M.D. ABOIM, IFMCP

  Fellowship 2022 Fall

  I've been practicing integrative medicine in my private practice outside of Houston opening in 2016. Previous to that I was an employed family physician getting increasingly uncomfortable with the short appointments, and the check-the-box type visits. My solo-practice affords me the space and time to go on that therapeutic deep dive with my patients, which is much more rewarding. My website is www.shayahealth.com

  Nutrition was my degree in college, my younger self already curious about how things worked, I went to University of Texas at Austin finishing in 1994. Medical school was at UTHSC San Antonio, then completed residency at Memorial Family Medicine Residency in Houston, honored as a chief resident my last year and numerous resident teaching awards. I really do love teaching. I got certified in Functional Medicine in 2020, then started on my AWCIM fellowship journey. While IFM gave me solid clinical guidance and a rubric on how to work patients up, I feel more well rounded after compmleteing AWCIM fellowship. I'm currently volunteer faculty at University of Houston College of Medicine in the longitudinal primary care program teaching integrative family medicine to first year medical students.

  I am known as a caring and compassionate physician who thinks outside the box with creative solutions to health problems. What fulfills me most is working with empowered patients who are looking for a relationship with their doctor rather than a transaction.  My philosophy is  "we immediately become more effective when we decide to change ourselves rather than asking things to change for us".

  On the personal side, I remarried in 2014, my husband Mike and I have blended our 5 kids, 1 dog, 2 cats and some outdoor possums and raccoons. I enjoy saddle stitching leather goods to make beautiful functional items. You can follow along at www.instagram.com/taymaleather

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  Myles
  Spar, MD, MPH

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  Myles Spar, MD, MPH

  Fellowship 2008

  Dr. Spar worked as a humanitarian for Doctors without Borders, which triggered his appreciation for the role of lifestyle and community as well as personal engagement in each person's ability to achieve their goals in health and life in general. Having practiced Integrative Men’s Health for many years, he now leads AndHealth’s clinical practice which delivers whole-person specialty care to patients with chronic diseases with a focus on accessibility and personalization. His passion is Medicine 3.0, personalized, preventive and participatory, with an added focus of a clearly defined sense of purpose, in order to extend healthspan and joy. Besides his Internal Medicine training. he completed formal training in Public Health and health services research at UCLA and in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine while establishing and running a free integrative medicine program at an FQHC in the L.A. area. For this work, he is the recipient of the prestigious Bravewell Leadership Award. He is board certified in Internal and Integrative Medicine. Dr. Spar was named Physician of the Year by the American Board of Integrative Medicine in 2023 and has pursued his passion for root-caused medicine through training in functional medicine and serving as chair of the American Board of Integrative Medicine. As a clinician, researcher, author, teacher, speaker for multiple media outlets and on the TedX stage, Dr. Spar went on to specialize in personalized medicine for patients focused on optimal performance and chronic illness. He wrote the book Optimal Men’s Health, published in 2020 with Oxford University Press. As a specialist in Integrative Men’s Health, he has advised NBA players, celebrities and executives on maximizing performance through optimizing health. He is on clinical faculty of the University of Arizona AWCIM Fellowship, the Academy for Integrative Health and Medicine Integrative Medicine Fellowship, and A4M, the American Academy for Anti-Aging Medicine. As an Ironman Athlete and Dad, Dr. Spar continues to push his own boundaries in fitness and connectedness.  

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  Andrew
  Weil, MD

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  Andrew Weil, MD

  Andrew Weil was born in Philadelphia in 1942, received an A.B. degree in biology (botany) from Harvard in 1964 and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1968. After completing a medical internship at Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco, he worked a year with the National Institute of Mental Health, then wrote his first book, The Natural Mind.  From 1971-75, as a Fellow of the Institute of Current World Affairs, Dr. Weil traveled widely in North and South America and Africa collecting information on drug use in other cultures, medicinal plants, and alternative methods of treating disease. From 1971-84 he was on the research staff of the Harvard Botanical Museum and conducted investigations of medicinal and psychoactive plants.

  Dr. Weil is the founder of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, where he also holds the Lovell-Jones Endowed Chair in Integrative Medicine and is Clinical Professor of Medicine and Professor of Public Health. The Center is the leading effort in the world to develop a comprehensive curriculum in integrative medicine. Graduates serve as directors of integrative medicine programs throughout the United States. Through its Fellowship and Integrative Medicine in Residency curricula, the Center is now training doctors and nurse practitioners around the world.

  Dr. Weil is the editorial director of the popular website, Dr. Weil.com (www.drweil.com), and appears in video programs featured on PBS. He can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DrWeil and Twitter @drweil. Dr. Weil is the founder and Chairman of the Weil Foundation, and the founder and co-Chairman of Healthy Lifestyle Brands. He is also a founder and partner of the growing group of True Food Kitchen restaurants. In 2017, he joined Seabourn and The Onboard Spa by Steiner in their “Spa and Wellness With Dr. Andrew Weil” mindful-living program, offered on all of its cruise ships. Dr. Weil writes a monthly column for Prevention magazine and the popular Dr. Andrew Weil's Self Healing monthly newsletter. A frequent lecturer and guest on talk shows, Dr. Weil is an internationally recognized expert on medicinal plants, alternative medicine, and the reform of medical education. He lives in Tucson, Arizona, USA.

  Andrew Weil is the author of many scientific and popular articles and of 15 books: The Natural Mind; The Marriage of the Sun and Moon; From Chocolate to Morphine (with Winifred Rosen);  Health and Healing;  Natural Health, Natural Medicine; Spontaneous Healing; 8 Weeks to Optimum Health; Eating Well for Optimum Health:  The Essential Guide to Food, Diet, and Nutrition; The Healthy Kitchen: Recipes for a Better Body, Life, and Spirit (with Rosie Daley); Healthy Aging:  A Lifelong Guide to Your Well-Being; Why Our Health Matters: A Vision of Medicine That Can Transform Our Future (issued in paperback (with new content) as You Can't Afford to Get Sick); Spontaneous Happiness; True Food: Seasonal, Sustainable, Simple, Pure (with Sam Fox and Michael Stebner); Fast Food, Good Food; and the recent Mind Over Meds: When Drugs Are Necessary, When Alternatives Are Better – and When to Let Your Body Heal on Its Own. Oxford University Press is currently producing the Weil Integrative Medicine Library, a series of volumes for clinicians in various medical specialties with Dr. Weil as the series editor: Integrative Oncology (co-edited with Dr. Donald Abrams) (2009, rev. 2014); Integrative Psychiatry and Integrative Pediatrics (2010) and Integrative Women's Health (2010, rev. 2015); Integrative Rheumatology and Integrative Cardiology (2011), and Integrative Gastroenterology (2011, rev. 2019), Integrative Men's Health and Integrative Dermatology (2014), and Integrative Nursing (2014, rev. 2018), Integrative Pain Management (2016), Integrative Environmental Medicine and Integrative Geriatric Medicine (2017), Integrative Preventive Medicine, Integrative Psychiatry and Brain Health, Integrative Sexual Health, and Integrative Addiction and Recovery (2018) have been published, with more volumes planned.

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  Jill
  Weintraub, MD, FACR

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  Jill Weintraub, MD, FACR

  Fellowship 2021 Fall

  Dr. Jill Weintraub is the founder of integrative rheumatology consultant, a rheumatology practice that combines conventional rheumatology with the fundamentals of integrative med. She did her medical training at Mount Sinai medical center and her rheumatology special training at NYU Medical Center hospital for joint diseases.

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  Ann Ming
  Yeh, MD

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  Ann Ming Yeh, MD

  Fellowship 2014 Summer

  Dr. Ann Ming Yeh is a Clinical Professor at Stanford University in Pediatric Gastroenterology and practices at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and Stanford Children's Health. She completed her residency and GI fellowship at Stanford University.
  
  Dr. Yeh's research interests include diet therapies for inflammatory bowel disease, nutrition, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, and integrative medicine for pediatric gastroenterology. She has presented her work on fatty liver, inflammatory bowel disease and integrative medicine at national meetings.
  
  She completed a two-year distance learning fellowship through the University of Arizona's Center for Integrative Medicine where she gained additional expertise in mind-body therapies, botanicals, and nutritional supplements. With skill and compassion, Dr. Yeh treats her patients with a comprehensive, evidence-based, holistic approach. She is also a formally trained and board-certified medical acupuncturist. She is currently the program director for the nation's premier fellowship for Pediatric Integrative Medicine at Stanford.
  
  Outside of medicine, she enjoys yoga, gardening, hiking, and traveling with her family.