1998 Keynote Speaker Biographies
Hernan F. Acevedo, PhD, is the foremost American
researcher into the role of human chorion gonadotrophin (hCG) in the genesis
of cancer. He is Head of the Division of Experimental Pathology and Professor
of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Allegheny General Hospital, Allegheny-Singer
Research Institute, MDP-Hahnemann School of Medicine, and Allegheny University
of Health Sciences in Pittsburgh. He received his PhD in chemistry in 1945 from
the Catholic University of Chile and is the co-author of 162 publications, including
76 papers, 10 chapters in books and 76 published abstracts. He has received
numerous awards for this scientific research, including the 1996 Health Care
Hero Finalist in the category of Health Care Innovations from the Pittsburgh
Business Times.
Jeanne Achterberg, PhD, has received international
recognition for her pioneering research in medicine and psychology. A faculty
member for 11 years at Southwestern Medical School, University of Texas Health
Science Center, she is currently a Professor of Psychology at Saybrook Institute,
San Francisco. She co-chaired the Mind/Body Interventions Ad Hoc Advisory Panel
and the Research Technologies Conference for the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) Office of Alternative Medicine, and she is a research consultant and advisor
to foundations and government agencies. She has authored over 100 papers and
five books, including Imagery in Healing: Shamanism and Modern Medicine
and Woman as Healer. Her most recent book, Rituals of Healing,
is a primer on the use of creative therapies for health and medicine. Dr. Achterberg
is a former President of the Association of Transpersonal Psychology and is
now Senior Editor for the Journal of Alternative Therapies.
Carolyn R. Aldige is President and Chief Executive
Officer of the Cancer Research Foundation of America (CRFA), which has provided
more than $25 million in support of its mission: cancer prevention through scientific
research, education and early detection. Ms. Aldige is also President of the
National Coalition for Cancer Research. She has helped to develop such programs
as the Congressional Families Action for Cancer Awareness Campaign, Project
Awareness, ¡Celebremos la Vida!, Buddy Check 9 and Dr.Health'nstein's Body
Fun, an award-winning interactive multimedia CD-ROM game promoting healthy
habits for elementary-school-age children. Ms. Aldige spearheaded a drive to
raise funds for the GW Mammovan, the first mobile mammography facility in the
nation's capital. A magna cum laude graduate of Randolph-Macon Woman's College,
she is a 1997 recipient of the College's Alumnae Achievement Award. Her professional
career includes ten years as a medical researcher in endocrinology at both Cornell
University Medical Center and Georgetown University Medical Center.
Anne Alexander is the Editor in Chief of Prevention
magazine, America's largest health magazine with a readership of over 11 million.
Prior to joining Prevention in August 1997, Ms. Alexander was Editor
in Chief of Natural Health magazine, where in two years she doubled newsstand
sales and increased circulation by 100,000. Ms. Alexander has previously served
as Senior Editor at Walking Magazine and as Associate Editor at Vogue
and then Self. She has written extensively on health and fitness for
The New York Times, Women's Sports and Fitness, Shape, Vogue, and Self.
Since joining Prevention, Ms. Alexander has extended the magazine’s editorial
expertise to include the best of alternative medicine, including herbs, natural
ways to prevent or treat health problems, and mind/body medicine.
Robert C. Atkins, MD, is the Founder and Medical
Director of the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine. A 1951 graduate of
the University of Michigan, he received his medical degree from Cornell University
Medical School in 1955 and went on to specialize in cardiology. Along with seeing
patients daily, Dr. Atkins continues to champion the natural healing arts as
a rational, effective alternative to pharmaceutical drugs and surgery for many
debilitating illnesses. He is the author of several books, including Dr.
Atkins' New Diet Revolution, the original Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution,
and his newest book, Dr. Atkins' Vita-Nutrient Solution: Nature’s Answers
to Drugs, which advocates the use of nutrients as medical tools. He is the
recipient of the World Organization of Alternative Medicine's Recognition of
Achievement Award and was the National Health Federation's Man of the Year.
Dr. Atkins is also Co-Founder and Past President of the Foundation for the Advancement
of Innovative Medicine.
Steve Austin, ND, is an Oregon-licensed naturopathic
physician in private practice at the Center for Natural Medicine in Portland,
Oregon, where he sees primarily cancer patients. He is a former Professor of
Nutrition at National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, where he
graduated in 1982. Previously, Dr. Austin headed the nutrition departments at
Bastyr University in Seattle and Western States Chiropractic College in Portland,
and he has served on the faculties of all four naturopathic colleges in North
America. He is the co-author of Breast Cancer: What You Should Know (But
May Not Be Told) About Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment, now in its
7th printing. He is also co-author of The Natural Pharmacy, currently
in press. Dr. Austin's research on natural treatments for cancer has been published
in the peer reviewed Journal of Naturopathic Medicine. He is a contributor
to the Textbook of Natural Medicine, and Nutrition Editor of the Quarterly
Review of Natural Medicine.
Tibor Bakacs, MD, PhD, DS, is Head of the Department
of Immunology at the National Institute of Oncology in Budapest. He received
his MD from Semmelweiss Medical University and his PhD and DS from Hungarian
Academy of Sciences, both in Budapest. His current research investigates the
characterization of cytotoxic human lymphocyte subpopulations.
Stephen Barnes, PhD, is a researcher studying the
mechanism of action in cancer and vascular smooth muscle cells of the naturally
occurring isoflavone genistein, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Dr. Barnes came
from London, England to the United States in 1975 to work at the Mayo Clinic
in Rochester, Minnesota. He joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham in
1977 and is a Professor in the Departments of Pharmacology & Toxicology
and Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics. He is also the Director of the Comprehensive
Cancer Center Mass Spectrometry Shared Facility. His research is supported by
grants from the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health
and the American Soybean Association.
Rudolph Bauer, PhD, is a diplomate in clinical psychology
and holds consultant status in the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis. He
is Director of the Gestalt Psychotherapy Training Center of Washington, DC,
and Co-Director of the Washington Center for Meditation Studies. He has studied
Eastern philosophy within both the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, and is one
of the premier meditation teachers in the Washington, DC area.
Berkley Bedell, a successful small businessman
and former six-term Congressman from Iowa, is a leading advocate for greater
access to alternative and complementary treatments. He retired from Congress
in 1988 after contracting Lyme Disease. As he believes that his illness was
solved by alternative medical treatments, he is now actively involved in the
investigation of such treatments. He served on the Advisory Panel on Unconventional
Medical Practices at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and now participates
on the Program Advisory Council of the NIH Office of Alternative Medicine. Working
with Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, he was largely responsible for the establishment
of this office.
Herbert Benson, MD, is one of the earliest and
most accomplished researchers on the connection between the mind and the body.
His book The Relaxation Response was among the first to document scientifically
the relationship between stress and certain bodily responses. A 1961 graduate
of Harvard Medical School, Dr. Benson is currently Associate Professor of Medicine
at Harvard Medical School and President of the Mind/Body Medical Institute at
Harvard. His most recent best-selling book, Timeless Healing, explores
the connection between belief and health.
Clement Bezold, PhD, is President of the Institute
for Alternative Futures and its for-profit subsidiary, Alternative Futures Associates.
He received his PhD in political science from the University of Florida. He
has applied scenarios and visioning techniques to help organizations and governments
more wisely choose and create the future they prefer. Such major organizations
as the American Cancer Society, the World Health Organization, and the American
Association of Retired Persons have enlisted Dr. Bezold for his expertise in
the health care field. In addition, he directed the development of the vision
for Celebration Health, the health care system for the Disney Company's new
town of Celebration. Dr. Bezold is presently overseeing a major process for
the Department of Defense on the future of military medicine. He has authored
and edited several books and numerous articles, and he collaborated on the American
Cancer Society's new book, Horizons 2013. He has taught at the University
of Florida, Antioch University and American University.
Judie Blanchard, MS, is the Director of Operations
for the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship. She was formerly Director
of Community Support Services at the Hollings Cancer Center in Charleston, South
Carolina, and Assistant Professor in the College of Health Professions at the
Medical University of South Carolina. Ms. Blanchard has served as a board member
of the Charleston Area American Cancer Society and an advisory board member
of the Charleston YWCA, as well as being a founding member of the South Carolina
Cancer Pain Initiative and the LowCountry Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.
She has coordinated educational and psychosocial support services for cancer
survivors, their families, health care professionals, and the general public.
Ms. Blanchard has a multidisciplinary master's degree in behavioral medicine,
exercise physiology and psychology, and has been certified as an Ericksonian-based
hypnotherapist. She has also been certified as a guided imagery practitioner
and has been trained in various mind-body techniques.
David E. Blask, MD, PhD, is a Senior Research Scientist
in the Laboratory of Experimental Neuroendocrinology/Oncology at the Bassett
Research Institute at Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, New York.
He received a PhD in anatomy in 1974 and an MD in 1978 from the University of
Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio. His primary research interest is
in the neuroendocrine regulation of breast cancer growth in vivo and
in vitro by the pineal gland hormone melatonin. He has authored or co-authored
over 150 research articles, book chapters and abstracts and has delivered numerous
invited lectures both nationally and internationally. He has also reviewed research
articles for over 40 journals and currently serves on the editorial board of
the Journal of Pineal Research. His research has been supported by grants
from both the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development.
Susan J. Blumenthal, MD, MPA, is the Assistant
Surgeon General, Rear Admiral and Senior Science Advisor in the Department of
Health and Human Services (DHHS). She is currently serving as Associate Vice
President for Health Affairs and as a Visiting Professor at George Washington
University Medical Center. In 1994, Dr. Blumenthal was appointed the country's
first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women's Health within the DHHS. For the
12 years prior to this appointment, she directed major national research programs
at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Blumenthal has served as a member
of the President's Interagency Council on Women, as the US representative to
the World Health Organization's Global Commission on Women's Health, as Chair
of the Federal Coordinating Committees on Breast Cancer, and as Co-Chair of
the DHHS Steering Committee on Domestic Violence. She is also a Clinical Professor
of Psychiatry at Georgetown School of Medicine and Tufts University Medical
Center.
Robert E. Burdick, MD, is a medical oncologist,
hematologist and internist who has maintained a private practice at The Polyclinic
in Seattle, Washington for 28 years. Dr. Burdick is a 1964 graduate of the University
of Washington Medical School, where he now serves on the faculty as a Clinical
Instructor. Prior to beginning his practice in 1970, he spent time in Cairo
under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health Office of International
Research investigating encephalitis and meningitis. Dr. Burdick served as President
of the Washington State Medical Oncology Society in 1994. Today he continues
to see patients and participate in cancer research in the Seattle area.
Stanislaw R. Burzynski, MD, PhD, is an internationally
recognized physician and biochemist who has pioneered the development and use
of biologically active peptides in diagnosing, preventing, and treating cancer.
He earned his MD in 1967 and a PhD in biochemistry in 1968 from the Medical
Academy in Lublin, Poland. Dr. Burzynski then served as Assistant Professor
at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston for eight years, where he conducted
research on these peptides, which he named "antineoplastons" due to their activity
in correcting and normalizing neoplastic, or cancerous, cells. His research
at Baylor was sponsored and partially funded by the National Cancer Institute.
In 1977, Dr. Burzynski opened his clinic in Houston, where he has since treated
over 3,000 advanced cancer patients. He has authored 172 scientific publications
and has been awarded 52 patents for his antineoplaston treatment. Many other
groups have replicated and expanded his preclinical work, and currently over
200 publications on antineoplastons have been written by researchers working
independently of the Burzynski Research Institute.
Candace Campbell has been Executive Director
of the American Preventive Medical Association (AMPA) since 1994. The APMA is
a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to achieving a health care environment
in which practitioners can practice in good conscience, with the well-being
of their patients foremost in their minds, and without fear of censure or harassment
for using alternative or complementary therapies. The membership encompasses
laymen as well as practitioners, including medical doctors, osteopathic doctors,
doctors of Oriental Medicine, acupuncturists, naturopaths, chiropractors, massage
therapists, nutritionists, and dentists, among others. Prior to her work with
the APMA, Ms. Campbell was president of Campbell & Company, a public relations
firm that handled public policy issues ranging from the Dietary Supplement Health
and Education Act to Native American rights and religious freedom. From 1977
to 1981, she served as Assistant Press Secretary and then Press Secretary to
US Senator Harrison A. Williams (D-NJ).
Rick J. Carlson is President and Chief Executive
Officer of HealthMagic, Inc. In his career, he has focused on efforts to limit
the expansion and hyperinflation of medical care, and has been a key analyst,
advisor, and strategist for managed care organizations. Mr. Carlson's book,
The End of Medicine, was considered the first serious critique of the
modern medical system. Before joining HealthMagic, Inc., Mr. Carlson was Vice
Chairman of Age Wave Health Services. From 1987 to 1990, he served as president
and CEO of NewHealth Centers/PPP Inc., where he continues to be a special advisor
and sits on the board of directors. Mr. Carlson has acted as a consultant to
numerous health care institutions, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
of America, the American Hospital Association, and the US Department of Health
and Human Services. He has written more than 40 publications and was involved
in the development of the Alliance for Healthy Aging and Medicare Risk programs
for several national managed care organizations.
Barrie R. Cassileth, PhD, is a leader and innovator
in the area of psychosocial oncology. After receiving her PhD in medical sociology
from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978, she served as an administrator
and professor at their school of Medicine until 1991. Dr. Cassileth is currently
a Consulting Professor of Community and Family Medicine at Duke University Medical
Center, an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina,
and a Visiting Lecturer at Harvard University. She was a founding member of
the Program Advisory Council of the Office of Alternative Medicine at NIH and
is a member of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Committee of the American
Cancer Society. In addition to her most recent book, The Alternative Medicine
Handbook: The Complete Reference Guide to Alternative and Complementary Therapies,
Dr. Cassileth has authored numerous research articles, books, audiovisual materials,
and publications for cancer patients, families, and physicians.
Li-Chuan Chen, PhD, is a 1991 graduate of the Toxicology
Program at the University of Kentucky. With a fellowship from the National Cancer
Institute, he completed post-doctoral training on chemoprevention of retinoic
acid and beta-carotene. In 1994 he moved to NCI laboratories to continue his
research on the mechanism of anticancer action of phenylacetate, the major ingredient
of Antineoplaston AS2-1. Dr. Wayne Jonas, Director of the NIH Office of Alternative
Medicine, then recruited him to evaluate the science of all antineoplastons
under a professional service contract in 1996. Dr. Chen also conducted an evaluation
on Cone metabolic chemotherapy, a little known alternative cancer therapy. Dr.
Chen’s research led him to take an interest in many modalities of alternative
medicine, particularly energy and spiritual medicine. He is a practitioner of
HoChi, a special form of Chinese Qigong exercise, and he continues to investigate
alternative cancer therapies and work collaboratively with other alternative
medical practitioners in the foothills of South Carolina.
Sophie Chen, PhD, is a Research Associate Professor
at the Cancer Research Institute, New York Medical College. She received her
PhD from Columbia University in physical chemistry and conducted post-doctoral
research on enzyme structures and their function at Cornell University. She
spent 14 years with Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories and Bayer
USA, focusing on inflammation, autoimmune diseases, and drug delivery systems
and bringing to market two blood cell diagnostic products. In 1988, Dr. Chen
began researching cancer and natural herbs. She co-founded International Medical
Research, Inc. (IMR) in 1993 to develop natural products, and she recently founded
NovaSpes, Inc., to engage in cancer research on botanical extracts. Her devotion
to prostate cancer research has enabled her to develop a very effective herbal
product that will be part of clinical trials in three major hospitals this year.
She holds 12 patents and has published 25 articles and two books, many concerned
with herbal compounds for treating cancers, cancer pain and viruses.
Monique Class, MS, RN, Co-Founder of the Center
for Women's Health, received her master's degree in holistic nursing from the
College of New Rochelle in 1996, where she was honored as the recipient of the
Charles Alan Vaughn Award for excellence. Ms. Class earned her nursing degree
from the University of Virginia in 1986. She is certified by the Psychosynthesis
Institute in Imagery and Visualization. In addition to her work at The Center for Mind-Body Medicine, she is part of the research team and a Therapeutic Touch
practitioner at the Complementary Care Center of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.
Laszlo K. Csatary, MD, was born in Hungary, received
his medical degree in Budapest in 1949, and has been involved in cancer research
since being a medical student. He immigrated to the US in 1957. His first research
article, "Viruses in the Treatment of Cancer," was published in The Lancet
in 1971. His most recent publication, "Preliminary Report of a Controlled Trial
of MTH-68/B Virus Vaccine Treatment in Acute B and C Hepatitis: A Phase II Study,"
was published in Anticancer Research in 1998.
Alastair J. Cunningham, PhD, is a researcher
exploring the ways that psychological interventions can influence quality and
length of life for cancer patients. He received his doctorate in microbiology
at John Curtin School of Medical Research at Australian National University,
Canberra. Dr. Cunningham’s early research in immunology led to his current work
investigating the effects of group support and training in practical coping
skills for cancer patients. He has received several awards including the first
annual award from the Ontario Psychological Association for Most Innovative
Clinical Program. In 1992, he published The Healing Journey, a self-help
book for cancer patients. In 1993, he helped establish Wellspring Centre for
Cancer Patients in Toronto and he remains a clinical consultant there. He has
published 100 papers, three books, and edited two other books. A randomized
controlled trial is currently in progress, testing the effects of an eight-month
group therapy program on the lifespan of women with metastatic breast cancer.
Alan Dattner, MD, is a board certified dermatologist
on the AAD task force for Nutrition and Evaluation of Alternative Medicine.
He has been integrating alternative medicine into his practice for the past
19 years, and he has recently joined the Schachter Center for Complementary
Medicine in Suffern, New York. Dr. Dattner combines herbal treatment, nutrition,
and Applied Kinesiology with his 35-year background in cellular immunology to
solve medical mysteries. Before beginning practice, he spent three years investigating
human lymphocyte recognition at the National Cancer Institute.
Rep. Peter DeFazio was first elected to the US
Congress in 1986 and is currently serving his sixth term from Oregon’s Fourth
Congressional District. Along with his other legislative initiatives, Rep. DeFazio
has been involved in efforts to change the US Food and Drug Administration's
regulation policy in regard to nutritional supplements and alternative and complementary
treatments. He received a master's degree in interdisciplinary studies, specializing
in public administration and gerontology, from the University of Oregon.
Pali C. Delevitt, MA, PhD, is the creator of
"Healing Options," one of the first courses of integrative medicine for medical
students in the country. The course was first offered at the University of Virginia
in 1991, and it has since served as a prototype for other such programs. She
teaches a variety of courses in medical schools, including lectures on the topic
of patient/physician communication in courses such as "Spirit In Healing" and
"Human Touch/Healing Touch." A two-time cancer survivor who consciously combined
conventional treatments with complementary therapies, she is a national speaker
on the integration of holistic practice with conventional medicine, and the
re-visioning of medical education. She is currently completing her doctorate
in medical education and holistic healing.
Henry Dreher is a New York-based health and medical
writer who specializes in complementary and mind-body medicine. He was a staff
writer for the Cancer Research Institute for five years and has authored a number
of books, including Your Defense Against Cancer and The Immune Power
Personality. He also co-authored The Type C Connection with Lydia
Temoshok, PhD, and Healing Mind, Healthy Woman with Alice Domar, PhD.
His latest work, Self-Nurture: The Healing Art, also written with Dr.
Domar, will be published in 1999. He is a regular contributor to Advances
in Mind-Body Medicine and Natural Health, and has written for such
publications as New York Magazine, Tikkun, Good Housekeeping, Self, and
Ladies' Home Journal. Mr. Dreher also directs the Cancer Consultation Services,
in which he provides counseling and written reports on options in complementary
therapy for cancer.
Robert M. Duggan, MAc, MA, DiplAc (NCCA), a practitioner
of traditional acupuncture since 1973, is President of the Traditional Acupuncture
Institute in Columbia, Maryland. He studied under Professor J. R. Worsley at
the College of Traditional Acupuncture (UK) where he received his master's qualification
in 1979. He received a master's degree in human relations and community studies
from the School of Education of New York University in 1970 and another master's
degree in moral theology from St. Joseph's Seminary and College in 1964. He
has served as a Commissioner of the National Accreditation Commission for Schools
and Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, and currently serves as Chair
of the Maryland State Board of Acupuncture. He is an active member of the National
Alliance for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
James A. Duke, PhD, is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate
of the University of North Carolina with a doctorate in botany. Following military
service, Dr. Duke undertook post-doctoral studies in neotropical ethnobotany
at Washington University and Missouri Botanical Garden. He joined the US Department
of Agriculture in 1963 and remained until his retirement in 1995. A popular
lecturer on the subjects of ethnobotany, herbs, and medicinal plants, he has
taped dozens of television and radio shows, contributes to more than 20 journals,
and serves as advisor to numerous organizations. He has collaborated with the
National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute on both their
AIDS and cancer-screening programs and their new Designer Food Program to prevent
cancer. His databases on the ecology, nutritional content, folk medicinal uses
and chemical constituents of economic plants are being widely utilized. Dr.
Duke's primary goal is to reverse the disdain for alternative medicines in the
United States, where, as in the Third World, increasing percentages of people
can no longer afford pharmaceuticals.
Alan Dumoff, JD, MSW, is the Executive Director
of LifeTree Medical Center, Inc., which provides consultation services to patients
seeking guidance in choosing the best care. He is also an attorney specializing
in the needs of unconventional physicians and providers. A former Acting Director
of the National Commission for the Certification of Acupuncturists, he assists
physicians and providers with insurance, regulatory, and disciplinary issues.
Mr. Dumoff successfully lobbied for changes protecting alternative medicine
in the Kassebaum-Kennedy Act, as well as a law licensing massage therapists
in the District of Columbia. Mr. Dumoff publishes on the legal aspects of alternative
care and edits a legal column in Alternative/Complementary Therapies.
Using his training as a clinical social worker and his experience with complementary
practices, Mr. Dumoff assists diverse practitioners in blending their clinical
skills.
Steve Dunn was diagnosed with widely metastatic kidney
cancer in 1989 and chose a promising experimental treatment after both researching
the technical literature and collaborating with his physicians. Mr. Dunn is
convinced that good information played a major role in saving his life and that
many patients with cancer can benefit from researching their disease. After
recovering from his illness, Mr. Dunn founded CancerGuide, a web site dedicated
to helping patients research their treatment options in both conventional and
alternative therapies. He lives in Boulder, Colorado, where he is employed in
writing software for medical devices. He graduated from Middlebury College in
1978 with a double major in math and biology.
Arnold E. Eggers, MD, received his medical degree
from Columbia University in 1971. He is currently an Associate Professor in
the Department of Neurology at SUNY-Health Science Center at Brooklyn. Dr. Eggers
is a leading researcher in the development of adjuvant-linked vaccines for combating
cancer, particularly brain tumors. He has published numerous studies and abstracts
in leading scientific journals on his work in the field of immunotherapy.
Samuel S. Epstein, MD, is an internationally recognized
authority on the toxic and carcinogenic effects of environmental pollutants
and of contaminants in food, cosmetics and household products. He is currently
Professor of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the School of Public
Health at the University of Illinois Medical Center Chicago, as well as Chair
of the Nationwide Cancer Prevention Coalition. Dr. Epstein has authored some
280 scientific articles and seven books, including the prize-winning The
Politics of Cancer and the Hazardous Wastes in America, in addition
to numerous editorials in leading national newspapers. He is a consultant to
the US Senate Committee on Public Works and a member of several federal agency
advisory committees. He was the key expert involved in the banning of hazardous
products and pesticides, including DDT, Aldrin and Chlordane, and he is the
leading international expert on the public health hazards of bovine growth hormone
(rBGH) used for increasing milk production and sex hormones used for fattening
cattle in feedlots.
Alison Estabrook, MD, received her medical degree
from the New York University School of Medicine in 1978. She has been on the
faculty of Columbia University School of Medicine since 1984 and is now a Professor
of Clinical Surgery in the Department of Surgery at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital
in New York. Her recent research includes the immunoimaging of breast metastases
using monoclonal antibodies and interferons. She is Chief of the Breast Service
at Presbyterian Hospital in New York and a board member of the American Society
of Breast Diseases. Dr. Estabrook has published numerous research articles and
has been awarded several honors, including being named Outstanding Woman Doctor
of the Year in 1989.
Mary Lee Esty, LCSW-C, PhD, is a 30-year cancer survivor
and creator of the group program format used by The Center for Mind-Body Medicine.
She is certified in biofeedback, hypnosis and neurotherapy. In 1992 she began
the Mind-Body Self-Regulation Group treatment program integrating biofeedback,
self-hypnosis techniques, music and other methods to help patients develop their
individualized inner approaches to healing. Along with her private practice
specializing in treating chronic illnesses, Dr. Esty is currently a Co-Principal
Investigator on a National Institutes of Health research grant using a new form
of EEG biofeedback for treating traumatic brain injury, a treatment that is
also effective for the side-effects of chemotherapy. President of the Neurotherapy
Center of Washington, she is also a member of the Mind-Body Collaborative, a
group of therapists offering comprehensive complementary and alternative therapies
in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Joel M. Evans, MD, a board-certified obstetrician
and gynecologist, is Founder and Director of the Center for Women's Health in
Stamford, Connecticut. A 1984 graduate of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine,
he received his post-graduate training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine,
where he also served as Chief Resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology. A member
of the American Holistic Medical Association, Dr. Evans is a frequent lecturer
on holistic medicine and serves on the Program Planning Committee of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, DC. Dr. Evans also sits on the board of
the Wellspring Center for Natural Healing, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated
to educating the public about the healing powers of nature and providing holistic
care at low cost in Ashland, Oregon. He integrates a variety of complementary
and alternative therapies into his own practice and is currently authoring his
own book, which describes in detail his unique, highly successful approach to
holistic care.
Rep. Lane Evans, in his eighth term as US Congressman
from Illinois' 17th Congressional District, is recognized as a leading advocate
of veterans in Congress. His legislative achievements include spearheading the
successful effort to pass Agent Orange compensation. This past Congress, he
helped win passage of a law that delivers health and compensation benefits to
children of veterans exposed to Agent Orange who were born with spina bifida,
a crippling birth defect. This represents the first time that children of veterans
will receive government benefits. A Vietnam-era veteran of the US Marine Corps,
Rep. Evans was one of the first congressional voices to speak out about problems
experienced by Persian Gulf veterans and has taken the lead in seeking benefits
and full disclosure about exposures during their service. In recognition of
his legislative leadership, he was awarded the Vietnam Veterans of America's
first annual President's Award for Outstanding Achievement in 1990. In 1994,
he received the AMVET's Silver Helmet Award, known as the "Oscar" of veterans
honors.
William R. Fair, MD, is Chief of Urologic Surgery
and Chair of Urologic Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in
New York. He received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical Center. Dr.
Fair's work centers around the premise that cancer is a disease with enormous
physiological and psychological implications, and complete and adequate treatments
must embrace both the mind and the body. He recommends that every oncologist
must recognize diet, nutritional supplements, physical activity, stress reduction,
social support and non-pharmacological means of symptom relief as vital parts
of cancer treatment.
Arnold I. Freeman, MD, received his medical degree
from the University of Toronto in 1962, and has served as Chief of the Department
of Hematology-Oncology at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City and Professor
of Pediatrics at the University of Missouri at Kansas City since 1987. Prior
to these appointments, he was on the faculty in the Pediatrics Department at
SUNY-Buffalo for eleven years. Dr. Freeman currently serves as a board member
of the American Cancer Society's National Advisory Committee on Childhood Cancer
and Associate Editor of the journal Cancer Biotherapy. Dr. Freeman has
been the principal investigator on dozens of clinical trials of pediatric cancer
therapies, and he has published many research articles and book chapters, with
a particular focus on pediatric leukemia and brain tumors.
Harold P. Freeman, MD, is Director of the Department
of Surgery at Harlem Hospital Center and Professor of Clinical Surgery at Columbia
University College of Physicians and Surgeons, both in New York. A graduate
of the Howard University Medical School in Washington, he has held many positions
in surgical oncology, including membership in the NCI Breast Cancer Task Force.
He has been Medical Director of the Breast Examination Center in Harlem, a program
of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, since 1978. Dr. Freeman is the Chief
Architect of the American Cancer Society's initiative on cancer in the poor
and is a leading authority on the interrelationships between race, poverty and
cancer. He has also been appointed Chairman of the President's Cancer Panel
by both President Bush and President Clinton. Dr. Freeman has lectured extensively
throughout the US as well as in Europe, Africa, South America, China and the
Middle East on numerous subjects related to cancer prevention and treatment.
Jeremy R. Geffen, MD, FACP, is the Founder and
Executive Director of the Geffen Cancer Center. He is a summa cum laude graduate
of Columbia University and received his MD degree with honors from New York
University School of Medicine. Dr. Geffen completed residency training in internal
medicine at the University of California at San Diego Medical Center, and fellowship
training in hematology and oncology at the Cancer Research Institute, University
of California at San Francisco Medical Center. His research awards have included
grants from the National Cancer Institute and the Cancer Research Coordinating
Committee of the University of California. Dr. Geffen has also traveled extensively
and studied Ayurvedic and Tibetan medicine in India, Nepal and Tibet, and he
has many years of training in various styles of yoga, meditation and other approaches
to health and self-awareness. In addition to his work at the Geffen Cancer Center,
Dr. Geffen lectures widely on the mind-body aspects of cancer and serves as
a staff physician at the Indian River Memorial Hospital in Vero Beach, Florida.
William W. George is Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of Medtronic, Inc., the world's leading medical technology company,
based in Minneapolis. He joined Medtronic in 1989 as President and Chief Operating
Officer, was elected Chief Executive Officer in 1991, and became Chairman of
the Board in 1996. Mr. George received his MBA with high distinction from Harvard
University in 1966, and he served in the US Department of Defense before joining
the corporate world in 1969. He was President of Litton Microwave Cooking Products,
Corporate Vice President at Honeywell, then President of Honeywell Europe, and
subsequently Executive Vice President of Control Systems, President of Industrial
Automation, and President of Space and Aviation Systems. Mr. George is a member
of the board of directors of Allina Health System. He is currently Chair of
the Health Industry Manufacturers Association and 1997 General Campaign Chair
for the United Way of Minneapolis. He is past Chair of the Food and Drug Law
Institute and of Abbott-Northwestern Hospital.
Penny George, PhD, received her doctorate in counseling
psychology from the University of St. Thomas in 1995. A licensed psychologist
since 1977, Dr. George has consulted with organizations and individuals in Minneapolis
for 20 years, specializing in executive assessment and coaching, as well as
vocational counseling. She is Co-Founder of Sellergren-George Consulting Psychologists.
Dr. George is a member of the board of directors of several organizations, including
Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, Lakewood Cemetery, the Episcopal House of Prayer
in Collegeville, and the Life Choices in Healing program of the Virginia Piper
Cancer Institute.
Carol Goldberg, MA, LGSW, is the Assistant Director
of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine. Originally an anthropologist, she has
also completed graduate training in social work, and has done extensive advanced
training in Gestalt therapy through the Gestalt Therapy Training Institute of
Washington, DC. As part of her work at the Center, she leads groups for people
with chronic and life-threatening illness as one of the facilitators for the Center's Mind-Body Skills Group Program, as well as serving on the faculty of
the Center's Professional Training Program.
Nicholas J. Gonzalez, MD, a magna cum laude graduate
of Brown University, received his medical degree from Cornell Medical College
in 1983. During post-graduate immunology training at the University of Oklahoma
and later at All-Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, he completed
an extended research study evaluating aggressive nutritional therapy in the
treatment of advanced cancer. Since 1987, he has administered this type of intensive
nutritional therapy to patients in his private practice in the treatment of
advanced cancer and other incurable diseases. Currently, he is involved in three
fully-funded clinical trials evaluating this approach with pancreatic, breast
and metastatic colon cancer.
James S. Gordon, MD, is the Founder and Director
of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine. He is a Clinical Professor in the Departments
of Psychiatry and Family Medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine,
and was the first Chair of the Program Advisory Council of the National Institutes
of Health Office of Alternative Medicine. A Harvard Medical School graduate,
he was for 10 years a Research Psychiatrist at the National Institute of Mental
Health. He has devoted over 25 years to the exploration and practice of mind-body
medicine. Dr. Gordon integrates relaxation therapies, hypnosis, meditation,
acupuncture, nutrition, music and dance, herbalism, musculoskeletal manipulation,
yoga and physical exercise into his own practice of medicine and psychiatry.
Dr. Gordon's latest book, Manifesto for a New Medicine: Your Guide to Healing
Partnerships and the Wise Use of Alternative Therapies, was published in
May 1996.
E. Dieter Hager, MD, PhD, DSc, completed his medical
studies in Berlin, Oxford and Gottingen, with specialties in oncology, immunology
and natural healing. He has served as Chief Physician and Executive Medical
Director of the BioMed-Clinic for oncology, immunology and hyperthermia in Bad
Bergzabern, Germany since 1989. He is Editor in Chief of Journal of Oncology,
Heidelberg, and Vice President of the German Society of Oncology, as well as
being a member of the board of directors of the Society for Biological Cancer
Defense and the International Society of Neuroimmunology. Since 1996, Dr. Hager
has been President of the International Clinical Hyperthermia Society. He holds
advanced degrees in medicine and biology and has served as Medical-Scientific
Director of Cytobiological Laboratories, Heidelberg, and Chief Physician of
Clinic Friedenweiler, Germany.
Susan Halpern, MSW, is currently on the staff
of Smith Farm, Center for the Healing Arts, and is a program associate at Commonweal.
Susan's career has included working as a psychotherapist for 20 years, both
privately and in community mental health centers. She was a consultant to the
Yale Law School Legal Services Clinic, the Acting Director of Open Door, a Parent
Child Caring Center, and the Vice President of Access Development Fund, an organization
which creates supportive apartments for people who are homeless and mentally
ill in New York City. Susan is a cancer survivor.
Anna Halprin is founder of the San Francisco Dancers
Workshop in 1955 and Co-Founder of Tamalpa Institute in 1978. Halprin has had
a diverse career, beginning with modern dance in New York and evolving into
avant-garde total theater, movement education and the use of modern myth and
ritual. She is one of the first people in the contemporary Western world to
use dance as both a healing and a performing art. As part of her research, she
has directed Moving Towards Life for people challenging cancer, Positive
Motion for men challenging AIDS/HIV, and Women with Wings for women
challenging AIDS/HIV. For the last decade, she has created and led Circle
the Earth, a contemporary community dance ritual using the Life/Art Process
in a confrontation with the real-life issues facing the community. Halprin's
many full-length dance theater works are extensively documented in film and
photographs. She leads workshops for museums, universities, religious organizations
and growth centers around the world.
W. David Hankins, PhD, performed his doctoral
research in molecular approaches to embryonic development at the Memorial Research
Center and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He then taught biochemistry and
directed research projects at Vanderbilt University Medical School, where he
invented one of the first in vitro transformation systems in which the
early events of oncogenesis could be studied completely outside the body. In
1980, Dr. Hankins joined the National Cancer Institute, where his studies led
to his development of a new therapeutic approach to leukemia called Hormone
Associated Therapy (HAT). Since 1990, Dr. Hankins has directed research projects
in cancer, developmental biology and hormone action at Johns Hopkins Medical
School. Dr. Hankins is also the Chairman and Scientific Program Director of
the International Cancer Alliance for Research and Education (ICARE). His recent
research has focused on using recombinant DNA methods to prepare anti-cancer
agents which interfere with hormone receptor interactions.
Nancy Harazduk, MS, LGSW, is the Coordinator
of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine's Mind-Body Skills Group Program. She is
a social worker who combines biofeedback, imagery and meditation in her work
with clients. As a facilitator of mind-body skills groups, she has led groups
for people with cancer, depression, chronic illness and severe stress. Prior
to receiving her MSW from Catholic University, she was an elementary school
teacher for 13 years. She has done extensive work with chronically and terminally
ill people at the National Institutes of Health and Hospice.
Tom Harkin, US Senator from Iowa since 1984, has
earned broad-based support for his commitment to fair and responsible solutions
and common sense reforms and for his dedication to human rights. Senator Harkin
played a key role in helping to pass legislation establishing the Office of
Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health in 1992. He has also
been a supporter of legislative measures which would allow cancer patients greater
access to unconventional treatments that may not have been sanctioned by the
FDA. Senator Harkin is a 1972 graduate of the Catholic University of America
Law School.
Michael J. Hawkins, MD, is Associate Professor
in the Divisions of Hematology/Oncology and Clinical Pharmacology in the Department
of Medicine and Pharmacology at Georgetown University Medical Center. He is
also Director of the Clinical Research Management Office and Developmental Therapeutics
Program at the Lombardi Cancer Research Center in Washington, DC. A graduate
of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, he has served at the National
Cancer Institute in the investigation of cancer therapy drugs. He is medical
director of Smith Farm, a cancer support program modeled after Commonweal.
Stephen P. Hersh, MD, FAPA, is Co-Founder, Executive
and Medical Director of the Medical Illness Counseling Center, the oldest free-standing
behavioral medicine clinic in the US and a recipient of a Significant Achievement
Award from the American Psychiatric Association in 1993. Dr. Hersh also serves
as Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Behavioral Sciences, and Pediatrics at
George Washington University Medical Center. He is a Principal Investigator
and Project Director of the National Cancer Institute's Medical Illness Counseling
Center Project studying the neuropsychological aspects of chronic illness in
children and adults. Dr. Hersh is the author of 56 publications, including journal
articles, textbook chapters and books, and is consultant to nine additional
books and their authors. His most recent book, Beyond Miracles: Living With
Cancer, was published in 1998. He has 26 years of experience lecturing and
teaching at universities in the United States and abroad, and at both local
and national organizations.
Gar Hildenbrand is a member of the Alternative
Medicine Program Advisory Council of the Office of Alternative Medicine at NIH.
He was Chairman of the chapter "Diet and Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment
of Disease" for the NIH report entitled "Expanding Medical Horizons." Mr. Hildenbrand
was a whistle-blowing member of the Advisory Panel for the US Office of Technology
Assessment evaluation of the science and policy issues surrounding alternative
methods of cancer management. He is a Co-Founder and President of the Gerson
Research Organization (GRO), named after Max Gerson, MD, the European neurosurgeon
who introduced sodium-restriction diet therapy into this country. The GRO evaluates
outcomes of cancer patients treated with the Gerson diet. The first outcomes
paper, citing five-year survival rates of melanoma patients treated with the
diet, has been accepted for review by the Office of Alternative Medicine. A
former professional playwright and director, Mr. Hildenbrand discovered, and
ultimately entered, the world of alternative medicine when his career in the
theater was cut short by an autoimmune illness.
Chuangui Huang, OMD, a Chinese Medicine doctor,
is the President of Yunan Tumor Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and
a professor of Xian No. 4 Medical University in the People's Republic of China.
He is a well-known specialist in treating cancer patients with Chinese herbal
medicine, and he has had great success. Dr. Huang began his training in traditional
Chinese herbal medicine at the age of four under the guidance of his father.
He is the eighth generation of Huang's family medicine which has been practiced
for several hundred years. When he was twenty-two, he was accepted by a famous
medical university and had complete training in Western medicine. He successfully
combined the two medicines in treating cancer patients and developed unique
methods of diagnosis and treatment, accumulating over 7,000 clinical cases.
He has established his own research labs, hospitals, recovery centers, a medical
school and an herbal pharmaceutical company.
Wayne B. Jonas, MD, is the Director of the Office
of Alternative Medicine (OAM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr.
Jonas is a board-certified Family Practice Physician who has conducted research
in many conventional and alternative areas. Before coming to the NIH, he directed
a post-doctoral research fellowship program at Walter Reed Army Institute of
Research in Washington, DC. He has conducted research with, as well as written
about, a variety of research approaches, including clinical trials, laboratory
methods, outcomes research, practice-based research, systematic reviews, and
meta-analysis. In addition to his conventional training, Dr. Jonas has received
training in homeopathy, bioenergy therapy, diet and nutritional therapy, mind/body
methods, spiritual healing, electro-acupuncture diagnostics and clinical pastoral
education. He is a member of the International Cochrane Collaboration Group
on the Quality of Randomized Clinical Trials, and Co-Coordinator of the Cochrane
Collaboration's Complementary Medicine Field Group.
Efrem Korngold, OMD, LAc, has been practicing
Chinese traditional medicine for 25 years. After receiving his initial education
in Great Britain and California, he pursued advanced training in the People's
Republic of China. He is co-author of Between Heaven and Earth, A Guide To
Chinese Medicine and the Chinese Modular Solutions Handbook for Health
Professionals. He has lectured on Chinese medicine for 20 years in hospitals,
acupuncture colleges, universities, and medical schools. Currently on the faculty
of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, he maintains a practice
at his clinic, Chinese Medicine Works, in San Francisco.
Lawrence H. Kushi, ScD, received his doctorate in
nutrition from the Harvard School of Public Health and completed post-doctoral
work in epidemiology at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health
in Minneapolis, where he now serves as Associate Professor in the Department
of Epidemiology. Following his post-doctoral work, Dr. Kushi was a Staff Scientist
in the Cancer Prevention Research Program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research
Center in Seattle, as well as Clinical Assistant Professor of Epidemiology the
University of Washington School of Public Health & Community Medicine. His
extensive published scientific research has focused on the impact of diet and
nutrition on the development and progression of certain cancers. He is currently
Chair of the Food and Nutrition Section of the American Public Health Association
and serves on the board of directors of the AMC Cancer Research Center in Denver.
Susan B. Lord, MD, is a graduate of Case Western
Reserve University School of Medicine and is a diplomate of the American Board
of Family Practice. She has a private practice in Washington, DC, specializing
in nutritional therapy and mind-body modalities in the prevention and treatment
of chronic illness. She designs and teaches nutrition courses for both medical
students and community groups in collaboration with The Center for Mind-Body Medicine, is on the faculty of the Center's Professional Training Program, and
leads Mind-Body Skills Groups for the Center.
Diane Manahan, MS, MSN, RNCS, is an Assistant
Professor of Nursing at Mankato State University. She received her BSN from
St. Olaf College and has received two master's degrees from Mankato State University.
Her areas of specialty and interest are mental health and transcultural and
holistic nursing. She is certified by the American Nurses Association as a Clinical
Specialist in Adult Mental Health Nursing. Ms. Manahan has served as an international
health volunteer in Malaysia, Ghana, and Kenya. She is a seasoned presenter
on a variety of topics and believes in the service/practice/education model
of teaching and learning. She facilitates groups for women with breast cancer
at the Mankato Open Door Health Center. She and her husband of 33 years, Bill
Manahan, have shared a scholarly and practical interest in holistic health for
many years.
William Manahan, MD, graduated from the University
of Minnesota Medical School and served as a Peace Corps physician for two years
in Malaysia and one year in Ghana. Upon his return, he maintained a private
practice for over 20 years in the Mankato area. In 1994 he became the founding
Program Director of Minnesota's first Rural Family Practice Residency. At present,
Dr. Manahan is an Assistant Professor of Family Practice at the University of
Minnesota Academic Health Center and is primarily involved with the University's
Center for Spirituality and Healing. The Center's mission is to promote interdisciplinary
education, research and patient care that integrates biomedical, complementary,
cross-cultural and spiritual aspects of care. He is the author of the book Eat
For Health: A Do-It-Yourself Nutrition Guide for Solving Common Medical Problems.
Beginning in 1990, he served for two years as president of the American Holistic
Medical Association.
Robert W. Mayo is Vice Chairman of Development of
the Cancer Treatment Centers of America. Mr. Mayo has 17 years of experience
developing comprehensive cancer programs. He has special knowledge and experience
in cancer program management, physician practice management and marketing. Prior
to joining Cancer Treatment Centers of America, and the subsequent founding
of Integrated Oncology Networks in 1995-96, Mr. Mayo served at Midwestern Regional
Medical Center in many senior management responsibilities. Mr. Mayo is also
a board member of Midwestern Regional Medical Center, Memorial Medical Center
and Cancer Institute, and Cancer Treatment Centers of America and is Vice President
of the Board of Directors of the Cancer Treatment Research Foundation. Mr. Mayo
received his BS in health care administration from Pacific Western University.
James L. McCoy, PhD, is Director of Research and
Clinical Testing at Immunocomp Laboratory, Inc. in Stockbridge, Georgia. He
received his doctorate in biochemistry from West Virginia University. Prior
to his current position, Dr. McCoy spent six years as a cancer immunologist
at the National Cancer Institute and eleven years as Director of Research at
ImmuQuest Laboratories in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He has served as reviewer
for eight cancer-related scientific journals, as a consultant to hospitals,
research institutions and pharmaceutical companies, and as a grant and contract
reviewer for 22 years for the National Institutes of Health. He has published
122 papers in peer-reviewed international journals and chapters in textbooks.
Martha Miller, PhD, is Counselor/Consultant/Researcher
for Lifestyle Consultation Services, which provides consultations to promote
nutritional, attitudinal, spiritual, and exercise practices for the treatment
of psychological and physical health imbalances. Her work emphasizes research
into alternative therapies for cancer conditions and outreach to mental health
professionals and medical/health care settings to encourage the implementation
of natural, dietary and lifestyle approaches to mind/body disorders. Dr. Miller
received her doctorate in psychology from the Saybrook Institute in San Francisco
and has spent many years working as a counselor and publishing on diet and psychological
health. She recently spent four years as a research assistant working on various
research and evaluation projects, including the effects of the stresses of job
loss on personnel at the Presidio Army Base. She also developed a training program
for hospitals wishing to implement Dr. Dean Ornish's Lifestyle program for heart
disease.
Ralph W. Moss, PhD, is an internationally acclaimed
science writer who has spent more than twenty years investigating and writing
about cancer issues. Formerly the Assistant Director of Public Affairs at Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Moss is the author of such groundbreaking
books as Cancer Therapy, Questioning Chemotherapy, and The
Cancer Industry, as well as the award-winning PBS documentary, "The Cancer
War." He also wrote the 1994 Yearbook article on alternative medicine for
The Encyclopedia Britannica. Dr. Moss was a founding advisor to the National
Institutes of Health's Office of Alternative Medicine, and is presently Scientific
Advisor to the Rosenthal Center of Columbia University and the University of
Texas School of Public Health. He is also a member of the advisory board of
the medical journal Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. In
1997, he was chosen as Scientific Advisor and honorary member of the German
Oncology Society, the first American so honored in over 20 years. Dr. Moss travels
the world lecturing and searching for valid alternative approaches to cancer.
Robert A. Newman, PhD, is Chief of the Section
of Pharmacology in the Department of Clinical Investigation at the M.D. Anderson
Cancer Center in Houston, as well as Professor of Pharmacology at the University
of Texas Medical School. Dr. Newman received his PhD in pharmacology and toxicology
from the University of Connecticut in 1975. He has received numerous awards
for his research into effective chemotherapies for leukemia, has four times
received the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Faculty Research Award, and has
held the D.B. Lane Cancer Research Professorship for Leukemia Research since
1984. Dr. Newman previously served on the faculties of Stanford University and
the University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed
articles.
Susan Okie, MD, is a physician and medical writer
for the Health section of The Washington Post. She attended Swarthmore
and Radcliffe Colleges and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Okie came to The Post
as a summer intern while in medical school, and after graduating, she joined
the paper's metropolitan staff in 1979 as a medical reporter. Her 1980 series
on DC General Hospital won the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild's Public
Service Award. In 1981, she left The Post to complete a residency in
family practice at the University of Connecticut. She then taught part-time
in the University's family medicine department and worked at a clinic in Hartford.
From 1985 to 1991, Dr. Okie was a reporter on The Post's national staff,
covering medicine and biomedical research. She spent three years in Kenya as
a special correspondent reporting on AIDS, wildlife biology, family planning,
anthropology and other scientific and social issues. Upon her return to the
US in 1994, she became The Post's National Science Editor, and in 1996,
she returned to reporting as a Staff Writer for the weekly Health section.
Kristin O'Shee, MFA, MST, is the artistic director
of O'Shee Dances. Her private practice in Washington, DC, includes massage,
yoga, and body-centered psychotherapy. Through her long-standing affiliation
with The Center for Mind-Body Medicine, she developed dance and massage components
of the School Wellness Program.
Carole J. O'Toole has worked in various professions,
including marine pathology and family service planning for the military and
environmental science policy, prior to becoming a cancer survivor and patient
advocate. Her experience with inflammatory breast cancer and subsequent conventional
and alternative cancer treatment led her to a new vocation as writer, speaker
and supporter of fellow cancer survivors. Her work has included appearances
on CNN and National Public Radio, local speaking engagements,
and counseling individuals currently facing cancer treatment. Calling herself
a "student of transformation," Ms. O'Toole is currently at work on a book, Your
Healing Path: Reclaiming Your Life Creatively from Cancer. Her book is intended
to help cancer survivors and their caregivers by providing a framework to design
individual, integrated treatment plans that incorporate complementary and conventional
therapies, and by providing descriptions of locally available complementary
and listings of practitioners. Ms. O'Toole holds a master's degree in medical
anthropology and health policy.
Mark L. Pacala, MBA, is President and Chief Executive
Officer of American WholeHealth, a provider of health services that integrate
complementary and alternative therapies. Mr. Pacala has spent his career in
highly service-oriented consumer businesses. After earning his business degree
from Harvard Business School, Mr. Pacala worked for the Health Care Strategy
Practice of Booz-Allen & Hamilton, the international consulting firm. He
then joined the Marriott Corporation, both in corporate strategic planning and
hotel operations. Mr. Pacala was recruited to the Walt Disney Company as Senior
Vice President and General Manager of the Disney Vacation Club. From 1994 to
1996, he was Chairman and CEO of The Forum Group, a senior housing and health
care company, with 44 senior living, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities,
and a home health care service. The company was sold to Marriott in mid-1996
at over twice the value it had when he arrived. Mr. Pacala joined American WholeHealth
as CEO in September 1996.
Michael Pertschuk has had three distinct careers
in public interest advocacy: from 1965-1976, as consumer counsel, ultimately
Chief Counsel and Staff Director, to the US Senate Committee on Commerce; from
1977 to 1984, as Commissioner and Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission;
and from 1984 to the present as Founding Co-Director of the Advocacy Institute
(AI). Mr. Pertschuk was the legislative strategist behind a series of landmark
public health laws, including the auto safety law, the flammable fabrics law,
the natural gas pipeline safety law, and the electronic products radiation safety
law. With the Federal Trade Commission, he pursued a series of preventive health
measures, including his proposed rule banning all advertising targeted to children,
centered on the promotion to children of highly sugared cereals and candy and
high-fat snack food. In 1984, Mr. Pertschuk created the Advocacy Institute to
build the capacity of citizen groups to advocate policies in the public interest,
focusing on tobacco, alcohol, and gun control.
Harry G. Preuss, MD, FACN, CNS, a graduate of Cornell
Medical School in New York City, worked as an Assistant and Associate Professor
at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for five years before becoming
a Professor of Medicine and Pathology at Georgetown University Medical School.
His bibliography includes over 150 peer-reviewed research papers, over 90 book
chapters and miscellaneous items, and over 155 abstracts. Dr. Preuss has edited
or co-edited four books and two symposia published in well-established journals.
He was a Special Research Fellow of the NIH in 1966, and an Established Investigator
of the American Heart Association between 1967-1972. Dr. Preuss is a member
of the prestigious American Society of Clinical Investigations and the Council
for the Office of Alternative Medicine of the NIH. He was recently appointed
Director of the National Research Council for Health and President of the American
College of Nutrition. He has received numerous grants from the NIH and completed
a recent one for the US Department of Agriculture.
Maureen Redl, MA, is Founder and Executive Director
of Voices of Healing, a non-profit organization for sharing personal
experiences of healing from life-challenging illness. She received a master's
degree in health education at New York University in 1978. A licensed marriage
family child counselor, she has maintained an active private psychotherapy practice
in San Francisco and Marin County since 1980. Her primary focus had been on
the issues, including sexual concerns, surrounding recovery from alcoholism,
drug abuse and other addictions. In 1989, she was diagnosed with aggressive
metastatic ovarian cancer, and she soon realized there are many parallels between
the potential within recovery from addictions and the transformational possibilities
in healing from serious illness. As each day became too precious to take for
granted, cancer became a terrible gift for her. Now cancer-free for more than
eight years, Ms. Redl's Voices of Healing provides Story Circles where
participants share information, hope and encouragement to deepen their own healing
while serving others.
William Regelson, MD, is a Professor of Medicine
at the Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, in Richmond.
A specialist in medical oncology, with joint appointments in microbiology and
biomedical engineering, he has been a leading researcher in the field of aging
for over twenty years. He was formerly the Scientific Director of the Fund for
Integrative Biomedical Research, dedicated to research on the biology of aging.
Russel J. Reiter, MS, PhD, is Professor of Neuroendocrinology
in the Department of Cellular and Structural Biology at the University of Texas
Health Science Center in San Antonio. For thirteen years prior to this position,
he served at the same institution as a Professor of Anatomy, and he also served
on the faculty of the University of Rochester's Department of Anatomy. He earned
his master's degree in anatomy and a doctorate in endocrinology from Bowman
Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Dr. Reiter has received 42 awards in his career and has held 22 editorial positions
on scientific journals. His more than 800 refereed papers and reviews include
recent research into the antioxidant actions of melatonin and in-depth investigation
of the pineal gland as it relates to the aging process.
Mary Ann Richardson, DrPH, is Assistant Professor
at the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center School of Public Health.
Her main research interests are alternative medicine, cancer prevention, health
promotion, mind-body interactions and quality of life. She is Co-Principal Investigator
and Program Director at the U.T. Center for Alternative Medicine Research in
Cancer, funded by the National Cancer Institute and the Office of Alternative
Medicine. She has published dozens of peer-reviewed scientific articles, and
her presentations include critical analysis of various alternative and complementary
therapies for cancer.
Richard S. Rivlin, MD, is Program Director of the
Clinical Nutrition Research Unit, Chief of the Nutrition Division, and a Professor
of Medicine at Cornell University Medical College in New York. He is also a
Visiting Professor at the Rockefeller University. Among Dr. Rivlin's many honors
and awards was his appointment in 1996 as an AAAS fellow for his "pioneering
research in vitamin metabolism and nutrition in cancer prevention, for national
leadership in clinical nutrition, and for innovative approaches to nutrition/medical
education." He served as President of the American Society for Clinical Nutrition
in 1994 and is currently the Chairman of the Public Affairs Committee. A graduate
of the Harvard Medical School, he served fellowships at the Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine and the National Cancer Institute.
David S. Rosenthal, MD, is President of the
American Cancer Society, Director of Harvard University Health Services, and
Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Rosenthal also serves as
a Senior Physician at Brigham & Women's Hospital, Beth Israel Hospital and
Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the Henry K. Oliver
Professor of Hygiene at Harvard University. A graduate of Harvard College and
Tufts University School of Medicine in 1963, Dr. Rosenthal has been extensively
involved as a volunteer with the American Cancer Society. He is Past President
and a current member of the Massachusetts Division Board of Directors and a
member of the national Board of Directors and the National Assembly. He serves
on numerous national committees, including the Research and Clinical Investigation
Committee, Public Issues/Public Policy Committee, and the Finance Committee.
Dr. Rosenthal has also received a number of awards, including the American Cancer
Society's St. George Medal in 1988 in recognition of outstanding contributions
to the control of cancer.
Julia H. Rowland, PhD, is a Researcher in the
Department of Psychiatry at Georgetown University. She received her doctorate
in developmental psychology from Columbia University. Dr. Rowland has considerable
experience and research background in the psychosocial aspects of cancer. She
has been an investigator on several studies and published dozens of articles
and book chapters. In addition to being a consultant for the National Cancer
Institute, Dr. Rowland currently serves on the board of the American Cancer
Society, District of Columbia Division and the advisory board of the National
Coalition for Cancer Survivorship. She is an ad hoc reviewer for several oncology
publications and has reviewed grants for the NIH National Center for Nursing
Research and the US Army Medical Research Breast Cancer Program.
Michael B. Schachter, MD, a magna cum laude graduate
of Columbia College, received his medical degree in 1965 from Columbia College
of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. Although board certified in psychiatry,
Dr. Schachter has been a pioneer in many other aspects of alternative and complementary
medicine for more than two decades and is Medical Director of the Schachter
Center for Complementary Medicine in Suffern, New York. A well-known lecturer
and writer, he is a major contributor to the book, An Alternative Medicine
Definitive Guide to Cancer and is author of The Natural Way to Healthy
Prostate. Dr. Schachter is also active in a number of professional societies,
including serving as President of the Foundation for the Advancement of Innovative
Medicine (FAIM) and Past President of American College for Advancement in Medicine.
Marilyn J. Schlitz, PhD, is Senior Scientist at
the Geraldine Brush Cancer Research Institute at California Pacific Medical
Center, and Director of Research at the Institute of Noetic Sciences. A PhD
graduate in anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin, she completed
post-doctoral research in psychology at Stanford University. Dr. Schlitz has
contributed numerous articles to the professional journals on parapsychological
phenomena and the integration of body, mind and spirit in health care. She has
taught at universities around the country and is now on the faculty of Harvard
University's Department of Continuing Education.
Bernard S. Siegel, MD, FACS, is a leading researcher
and educator on the interface between psychology and cancer prevention. A 1957
graduate of Cornell University's Medical School, Dr. Siegel maintained a general
and pediatric surgery private practice in New Haven, Connecticut from 1962 until
1989. He founded Exceptional Cancer Patients, a therapy and healing program,
in 1978. He is a sought-after workshop and conference presenter and has appeared
on most of the leading television and radio programs. His 1986 book Love,
Medicine and Miracles became a national bestseller and was turned into a
well-received public television series. His subsequent books, Peace, Love
and Healing and How to Live Between Office Visits, were equally well
received.
Mary Jo Siegel was diagnosed with low grade Non-Hodgkins
Lymphoma, a terminal cancer, in February 1991. After consulting with physicians
at several leading cancer institutes, she was informed that no conventional
treatment existed which could cure her disease. In 1992, Ms. Siegel and her
husband Steve consulted with Stanislaw Burzynski, MD, in Houston, Texas and
began his antineoplaston treatment. After two courses of treatment, Ms. Siegel
was pronounced in remission with no side-effects from the treatment. In 1995,
the Siegels founded the Burzynski Patient Group in Pacific Palisades, California.
After the FDA pressed for an indictment of Dr. Burzynski, the Siegels established
the Burzynski Legal Defense Fund to raise money to provide for Dr. Burzynski's
legal fees and to help change the laws in Congress. Ms. Siegel has appeared
on numerous talk shows, and the Siegels spend their time fundraising, lobbying
Congress and raising public awareness of the need to change laws which allow
the FDA to quash the innovative, life-saving discoveries of a researcher like
Dr. Burzynski.
Andrew Sparber, RN, MS, CS, is a Captain in the
US Public Health Service and a Psychiatric Consultation/Liaison nurse in the
Nursing Department at the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health.
In addition, he serves as a Principle Investigator of the Clinical Center's
survey of adult cancer and HIV+ patient utilization of complementary and alternative
medicine therapies. Mr. Sparber is also a Healing Touch practitioner.
Alexander S. Sun, PhD, is a researcher in the areas
of anti-tumor and immune-enhancing Chinese herbs, cellular aging, and the comparative
study of normal and neoplastic cells in cell biology, molecular biology, and
biochemistry. Born in China, he studied biology at Taiwan Normal University
in Taipei and later received his doctorate in biochemistry from the University
of California at Berkeley. He worked for several years as an Associate Research
Scientist in the Department of Pharmacology at Yale University School of Medicine,
and he has been Director of Medical Sciences at the Connecticut Institute for
Aging and Cancer in Milford, Connecticut since 1990.
Elisabeth Targ, MD, has produced numerous research
articles on distance healing and prayer and the healing process. She is currently
Acting Director of the Complementary Medicine Research Institute and an Assistant
Clinical Professor at UCSF School of Medicine. Dr. Targ also works at the California
Pacific Medical Center as both a Staff Scientist at the Geraldine Brush Cancer
Research Institute and the Clinical Director of Psychosocial Oncology Research.
She is Principal Investigator of a psychosocial project for the US Army Breast
Cancer Research Program Grant, entitled "A New Vision for Health Care," and
Research Director of the Community Wellness Program at the California Pacific
Medical Center's Institute for Health and Healing. Dr. Targ earned her both
her bachelor's and master's degrees in biology, as well as her medical degree,
from Stanford University.
Laurie S. Taylor is Counsel to the House Committee
on Government Reform and Oversight. Her work on the Committee since the 104th
Congress has included oversight investigations of the White House, the Department
of Justice and other executive branch agencies. She is currently handling issues
relating to the Food and Drug Administration and its policies and procedures
governing clinical trials and patient access to unapproved therapies. Ms. Taylor
has also served on the staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Prior to moving
to Washington, DC, Ms. Taylor was in private practice in Tampa, Florida.
Robert Temple, MD, is Director of the Office of
Drug Evaluation I and Associate Director for Medical Policy at the Center for
Drug Evaluation and Research of the US Food and Drug Administration. A magna
cum laude graduate of Harvard College, Dr. Temple received his medical degree
from the New York University School of Medicine. He has been with the FDA since
1972 and has published numerous research articles, particularly about issues
related to the clinical investigation of drugs. Among other society affiliations,
Dr. Temple is a member and Past President of the Society for Clinical Trials
and a member of the American Board of Clinical Pharmacology.
Xiao Ming Tian, called "Dr. Ming" by his colleagues
and patients, received his medical degree in Medicine and Surgery from Beijing
Medical University in 1969. Dr. Ming is a formally trained Doctor of Acupuncture
and Chinese Herbal Medicine. From 1969 to 1982, Dr. Ming worked in orthopedics/sports
medicine and pathology at Beijing Medical University. From 1982 to 1988, he
finished his post-doctoral fellowship in bone pathology at Johns Hopkins/Sinai
Hospital. Dr. Ming also completed his research fellowship in bones and joints
at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Ming is a Consultant to WHO/PAHO and
since 1987 has been Vice President of the World Academic Society of Medical
Qigong. Since 1991, Dr. Ming has been the first Clinical Consultant for Acupuncture
to the medical staff at the NIH Clinical Center. He has treated more than 4,000
patients for arthritis, sports injuries, neuropathy, emotional disorders, cancer
and various conditions using acupuncture, Chinese herbal remedies and Qigong
at the Wildwood Medical Center and NIH.
Jeffrey D. White, MD, is Senior Oncologist in the
Metabolism Branch of the Division of Clinical Sciences at the National Cancer
Institute. He received his medical degree from Howard University College of
Medicine in 1984. After fellowships in medical oncology and hematology, he came
to the NCI, where projects included molecular approaches to the construction
and screening of antibodies, the assessment of the humoral immune status of
patients with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, the detection of cytokine mRNA
in a lymphoma ceH line, a method of determining X-linked inactivation of cell
populations using PCR, and the assessment of T- and B-cell function in a patient
with common variable hypogammaglobulinemia. He is currently administering a
clinical trial of monoclonal antibody therapy to patients with IL-2 receptors
expressing malignancies.
R. Michael Williams, MD, PhD, is Senior Medical
Director and Chief Medical Officer at Cancer Treatment Centers of America. Dr.
Williams received his MD from Harvard Medical School and a PhD in immunology
from Harvard Graduate School where he worked under Baruj Benacerraf, winner
of the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1980. Dr. Williams was an Assistant Professor
of Medicine at Harvard and Professor of Medicine and Chief of Medical Oncology
at Northwestern University Medical School. He spent six years in the private
practice of internal medicine and medical oncology prior to the development
of Cancer Treatment Centers of America. He was also Founder of the Cancer Consulting
Group, an information resource service for cancer patients now operated by Cancer
Treatment Centers of America Consulting Services. He co-founded Cancer Treatment
Research Foundation and served on the board of directors and as the Chairman
of the Board of Scientific Counselors. He has been a member of numerous scientific
and medical organizations and an author of nearly 100 publications relating
to immunology and cancer. Dr. Williams is the author of Enzymes: The Fountain
of Life and an editor of Adjuvant Nutrition in Cancer Treatment and
Nutrients in Cancer Prevention and Treatment.
Marianne Williamson is an internationally acclaimed
author and lecturer. A Return to Love, A Woman's Worth, and Illuminata
were #1 New York Times bestsellers. She is also the author of a children's book,
Emma and Mommy Talk to God. Her two most recent books, The Healing
of America and Illuminated Prayers were just published. A native
of Houston, Ms. Williamson has been lecturing professionally since 1983. She
has done extensive charitable organizing throughout the country in service to
people with life-challenging illnesses.
Richard A. Willis, PhD, is Professor in the Department
of Human Ecology and Acting Director of Biomedical Research at the University
of Texas at Austin. He has served on the faculty at Austin since 1977 and has
been active in the Department of Nutrition and Foods, as well as within his
current areas. His recent research activities have included study of the affects
of Lovastatin on coenzyme Q levels in the blood. A member of several epidemiology
and nutrition associations, Dr. Willis has published widely in the scientific
literature and received numerous awards for this research and teaching. He received
his doctorate in epidemiology at the University of Oklahoma.
Leonard A. Wisneski, MD, FACP, is Medical Director
of the Bethesda Center of American WholeHealth and Corporate Medical Director
of Marriott International. He also maintains a clinical practice in internal
medicine, acupuncture, endocrinology and integral medicine in Maryland and serves
as Clinical Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University Medical
Center. Dr. Wisneski received his MD from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia.
His research has focused on many areas, including hypercalcemia, calcitonin,
and the etiology and treatment of osteoporosis.
Robert E. Wittes, MD, is a graduate of Harvard
College and Harvard Medical School. Following a fellowship in medical oncology
at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, he joined the staff of the Department
of Medicine at that institution, where he became Assistant Chief of the Solid
Tumor Service. He came to the National Cancer Institute in 1983 to head the
Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, the unit responsible for clinical trials
and the clinical testing of new agents. In 1988, Dr. Wittes joined the Bristol-Myers
Company as Senior Vice President for Cancer Research. He returned to the National
Cancer Institute in 1990 as Chief of the Medicine Branch. In 1995, Dr. Wittes
assumed the position of Acting Director of the Division of Cancer Treatment
and was later appointed Director of the new Division of Cancer Treatment and
Diagnosis, a position that he now holds. In 1997, Dr. Wittes was also appointed
to the new position of Deputy Director for Extramural Science, responsible for
the oversight, integration, coordination and enhanced communication across all
extramural programs of the National Cancer Institute.
Ernst L. Wynder, MD, DSc, is President and Medical
Director of the American Health Foundation in New York and Clinical Professor
of Community and Preventive Medicine at New York Medical College in Valhalla,
New York. Dr. Wynder's research and education efforts have focused on the prevention
and treatment of lung cancers. He has received numerous awards in his career,
including the Seventh AACR American Cancer Society Award for Research Excellence
in Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention. He is currently a member of the board
of Scientific Counselors of the Cancer Treatment Research Foundation and the
American Cancer Society Policy Advisory Committee.
Cun Zhuang, PhD, received his bachelor's degree
from China Pharmaceutical University in China and his PhD from Gifu University
in Japan. He was the Planning Engineer at Fujian Province Pharmaceutical Administration
in China since 1982, and was the Editor at State Pharmaceutical Administration
of China since 1986. He is the Principal of Bio Research Institute in New Jersey.
His areas of expertise are pharmaceutical chemistry and carbohydrate chemistry,
particularly in the utilization of polysaccharides extracted from medicinal
mushrooms. He has authored many articles for professional journals about anti-tumor
polysaccharides derived from mushrooms or seaweeds.
© 2008 The Center for Mind-Body Medicine