HAWAII DOC TALKS 2022 SPEAKERS

Donald Abrams, MD

Melissa Barber, ND, MSc

Ryan Bradley, ND, MPH
BIO
Dr. Donald Abrams provides integrative medicine consultations to people living with and beyond cancer at the Osher Center, with an emphasis on nutrition and cancer. In addition to his role at the Osher Center, he is also a general oncologist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center. He was the president of the Society for Integrative Oncology in 2010 and has been a member of various education sub-committees of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. He was chief of the Hematology-Oncology Division at Zuckerberg San Francisco General from 2003-2017. He co-edited the Oxford University Press textbook “Integrative Oncology” with Andrew Weil, MD. He was also named a “Top Cancer Doctor” in Newsweek’s 2015 Special Health Issue on Curing Cancer, in the category of Medical Oncology (details). Prior to specializing in oncology, Dr. Abrams worked in the field of HIV. He has served as assistant director of the UCSF Positive Health Program at San Francisco General Hospital and was chair of the Community Consortium, a professional association of more than 200 primary care providers treating Bay Area patients with HIV. He has conducted numerous clinical trials investigating complementary therapies in patients with HIV, including therapeutic touch, traditional Chinese medicine interventions, medical marijuana, medicinal mushrooms, and distant healing.
Expanding Access to Integrative Oncology Through Group Medical Visits
Individuals seeking integrative oncology consultation are often stymied by the paucity of providers practicing in the field. For many, this may mean that an initial appointment may be scheduled months down the line, after they have completed treatment of their malignancy, a time during which integrative interventions may be most valuable. In an effort to ameliorate this situation, a pilot program initiating integrative oncology group medical visits at the University of California San Francisco Comprehensive Cancer Center was established with funding from a philanthropic donation. Following the success of the pilot project, integrative group medical visits are now offered on a regular basis, greatly appreciated by participants and economically self-sustaining. Eight to 12 participants and their caregivers attend three sessions two weeks apart facilitated by the integrative oncologist. The session topics are 1) nutrition, 2) supplements including cannabis, and 3) additional integrative interventions including physical activity, yoga, stress reduction, traditional Chinese medicine and spirituality. The two-hour visit includes a 50- minute presentation followed by individual consultations with each patient. Use of note templates for each session greatly facilitates record-keeping. Following the three-part series, participants are invited to follow up clinic appointments at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Health if they so desire. Successful transitioning to virtual group visits has been achieved.
BIO
Melissa Barber, ND, MSc, E-RYT, has worked in diverse facets of health research for over 14 years – from basic science to epidemiology to practice-based research. She has been on the CAse REport (CARE) Steering Committee since 2014 and was co-author of the CARE Explanation and Elaboration (E&E) document, a manual for writing case reports. Her areas of focus have been to increase reporting from the point-of-care on complementary and integrative health (CIH) interventions and support CIH providers in the writing and publication process. She is a recent ND graduate from NUNM and is currently working in clinical research at an interventional orthopedic/regenerative medicine practice.
A Naturopathic Treatment Approach for Mild and Moderate COVID-19: A Retrospective Chart Review
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a critical time and opportunity for naturopathic physicians to support patients and the community – when there were no known treatments and the medical community was in a quandary as to how to approach this infectious disease. This talk will feature a treatment protocol implemented in a rural, naturopathic primary care setting for patients presenting with mild and moderative SARS-CoV-2 infection and published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine. The treatment protocol designed to address the pathophysiology of COVID-19 is thoroughly referenced, supported by the evidence available at the time it was conceived. The therapeutic approach is tiered according to severity of presentation and risk factors. An aspiration of the speaker is to embolden other naturopathic physicians to increase reporting from the point-of-care and produce quality publications. She will share some freely available resources on generating case reports, case series, and/or retrospective chart reviews.
Take a Stand: Write a Letter to the Editor!
In being stewards of naturopathic medicine, it is our responsibility to follow the medical literature in real-time, especially research in complementary and integrative health (CIH). Most notably, it is our job to scrutinize the methodology employed in different study designs. Negative CIH studies demonstrating no effect (or perhaps adverse effects) from CIH therapies are very prevalent. However, arguably a significant proportion are poorly designed. This could be due to an inaccurate intervention (wrong part of a plant used for example), the failure to account for different confounders, and several other reasons. Therefore, critical appraisal of the literature is paramount. Submitting a Letter to the Editor to elucidate shortcomings of a study is an important role we can assume, which can potentially lead to its retraction. In this presentation, we will discuss how to frame Letters to the Editor in response to a published study.
BIO
Dr. Bradley is a clinician, researcher and educator with 18 years of experience at the intersection between naturopathic medicine and public health. He received his Doctor of Naturopathy (ND) from Bastyr University in 2003 and his Master of Public Health (MPH) in Epidemiology from the University of Washington in 2009. After graduation, he received 8 years of NIH-funded clinical research training, including 5 years in the Division of Cardiology in the School of Medicine at the University of Washington. He is currently a Principal Investigator or Program Director on 2 NIH grants. His primary academic appointment is as a Senior Investigator, Director of Research and Associate Professor at the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) in Portland, OR. In addition to his roles at NUNM, he is an Assistant Professor in the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), an Affiliate Associate Professor in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Washington in Seattle, and a Visiting Professor at both the University of Technology, Sydney in Sydney, Australia and the Center for Naturopathy Research at Southern Cross University in East Lismore, Australia. Dr. Bradley has published over 65 peer-reviewed manuscripts of original research in high impact journals including: Atherosclerosis, the Journal of Translational Medicine, Nutrition Reviews, the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Trials, and many more.
Wired, Tipsy and Stoned: An Update
Does coffee shorten or lengthen your telomeres? Does alcohol really reduce mortality? Can cannabis be used safety for pain in patients with cardiovascular disease? This presentation will update the audience on evidence that has emerged over the last 3 years (since the original Wired, Tipsy and Stoned at HI Doc Talks 2018!) describing the health effects- positive and negative- on these commonly consumed recreational and dietary substances.
Say "No" to Drugs [that Don't Work or Cause Harm]
Naturopathic physicians are sometimes placed in a difficult position of advising patients on alternatives to prescription drugs that have been recommended by other health care providers. When can you say “No- I’d recommend against taking that medication.” with confidence, based on evidence of non-clinically meaningful effects or the drug causing harm? This presentation will highlight several examples of commonly prescribed drugs for conditions like osteoporosis, GERD, hypertension, diabetes, joint pain, and others where a detailed informed consent process including the evidence can be an important clinical tool to help your patients make informed decisions about the prescriptions they have received and highlight some specific circumstances in which a recommendation against taking these drugs is justified.

Jaclyn Chasse-Smeaton, ND

Kristen Coles, ND, LAc

Dr. Jean-Jacques Dugoua, HBSc ND PhD
BIO
Dr. Jaclyn Chasse, N.D. is a naturopathic physician focused on infertility, reproductive, and genitourinary health. Dr. Chasse also works as VP of Medical Education & Wellevate for Emerson Ecologics. She has been an adjunct faculty member for Bastyr University since 2011. Dr. Chasse is the Past-President for the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and the NH Association of Naturopathic Doctors and has served as an Ambassador for the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine, a board member of the Integrative Health Policy Consortium, and many other leadership roles.
Workshop: Clinical Algorithms for Naturopathic Fertility
BIO
Deep Sleep and its Role in Patient Health Outcomes
Discussion on the latest research regarding lifestyle, diet, exercise, herbal and nutrient supplementation, hydrotherapy techniques, and even novel pharmaceutical medication that have been shown to promote improvements in sleep architecture, specifically the restorative phases of deep sleep. Some time will also be dedicated to investigating the practices known to decrease restorative sleep. We will also focus on the various wearable tools used to biohack the sleep experience and give us the data points in which we can coach our patients on achieving improvements in their sleep phases.
The World of Fasting Mimicking Diets – A Practitioner’s Report on FMD Clinical Pearls
This talk will focus on the use of fasting mimicking diets in general naturopathic practice. You will learn what a fasting mimicking diet entails and the research behind it. We will discuss how to incorporate it in a wide variety of different cases and how to maximize patient outcomes with it. I will share data collection from my own practice with FMD and clinical pearls from using it in over 100 different cases.
BIO
Dr. JJ completed his PhD in Pharmacy Sciences at the University of Toronto. He has co-authored 2 books on pregnancy safety and one book on diabetes. Dr. JJ has many peer-reviewed scientific publications published or in press. He is a world expert on natural health products pharmacology and pregnancy safety. Local and nationwide print and television media frequently consult him to provide expert commentary.
Dr. JJ is an avid public speaker. Dr. JJ has given presentations nationally and internationally, including presentations at the World Health Organization in Washington DC and at conferences in Canada, US, China and Hong Kong.
Sleep: A narrative review of clinical interventions for sleep
Drug “Black Box” warnings: A refresher in prescribing vigilance
The purpose of this presentation is to review common drugs with black box warnings, their adverse effects, risks and contraindications.

Alena Guggenheim, ND

Ilana Gurevich ND LAc

Rachel Klein, ND, DC, DACNB, FIBFN-CNDH
BIO
Alena Guggenheim is a Naturopathic Physician with a passion for helping patients that don’t fit neatly in the medical box. Medicine is in her genes as a 4th generation physician, but she brings a new approach in which seemingly unrelated symptoms are approached within the context of the whole person.
In 2015 she started working for a technology driven health care system working with a collaborative multidisciplinary team. Dr. Guggenheim became the go to provider when patients had complex symptoms in many systems and started to notice that many patients had undiagnosed hypermobile connective tissue diseases. Helping to understand and treat these diseases has become her passion.
Currently, Dr Guggenheim sees patients at the Oregon Health Sciences University Comprehensive Pain Center with an emphasis on the diagnosis and treatment of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and related syndromes.
When not seeing patients Dr. Guggenheim enjoys spending time in nature with her family and riding horses
Dismantling ableism in medicine: identifying our gaslighting tendencies to help ourselves and our patients
Small Fiber Neuropathy: Tiny nerves, terrible pain
BIO
Dr. Gurevich is a naturopathic physician and acupuncturist who graduated from the National University of Natural Medicine in 2007 with her doctorate in naturopathic medicine and in 2008 with her masters of oriental medicine. She runs a very busy private practice specializing in treating inflammatory bowel disease as well as IBS, SIBO and other functional GI disorders. She lectures extensively and teaches about both conventional and natural treatments for gastrointestinal conditions including inflammatory bowel disease, SIBO and IBS. Dr. Gurevich also acts as a mentor in the naturopathic community educating and consulting with physicians about GI disorders. She supervises residents and consults with doctors about their most difficult GI cases. Dr. Gurevich was nominated as one of Portland Top Docs by the Portland Monthly in 2014, 2016, 2020 and 2021.
Diarrhea solutions: Treating exocrine pancreas insufficiency as an underlying cause
Diarrhea Solutions: Diagnosing and treating bile acid diarrhea
BIO
Dr. Rachel Klein is a naturopathic physician and functional neurologist practicing in Hilo, Hawaii. She is adjunct faculty for National University of Health Sciences and sits on the International Board of Functional Neurology (IBFN.) Dr. Klein holds a post-doctoral diploma in neurology from the American Chiropractic Neurology Board and is a fellow of the IBFN with specialization in childhood neurodevelopmental disorder healthcare. She currently serves President of the Hawaii Society of Natuopathic Physicians and sits on the Hawaii State Board of Chiropractic. Dr. Klein has a passion for teaching and frequently speaks at conferences on many topics, including clinical neurology and hands-on treatment approaches.
Hands on Workshop

Dr. Chris A. Kleronomos, FNP, DAOM, MSc

Dr. Misha Kleronomos, PsyD

Mr. Kiran Krishnan
BIO
He is board certified in Family Practice (AANP), and acupuncture (NCCAOM) and a board diplomate in Pain Management (AAPM), and Anti-Aging medicine (A4M), as well as a Professionally Registered Herbalist (AHG). He is considered one of the leading experts on the application of Bee Venom Therapy and publishes and lectures on the subject around the country. He is President of the American Apitherapy Society and a board member of the Biotherapeutics Research Education Foundation.
Practicing a truly comprehensive approach with a demonstrated history of successfully treating complex chronic conditions including chronic pain, FMS/CFS, and Autoimmunity, he also specializes in functional optimization, anti-aging, nutrigenomics, and biohacking.
He has been featured several times on the television show “The Doctors”, and on “National Geographic Wild”, as well been published in the Pain Practitioner, Journal of the American Academy of Pain Management, and was a featured interview in Life Extension Magazine.
Peptide Therapy Introduction and overview
Personalized Medicine. This approach is extremely valuable from a diagnostic perspective, as well as for addressing the
root causes of disease, however is also highly variable in respect to implementation as evidenced by discrepancies
between providers and the sheer volume of supplements and herbals available.
This lecture will make a case for the implementation of “Flexible Standardized Protocols” to address issues, using
examples of common disorders such as SIBO. Many examples of this exist in our community already but tend to be
focused on things such as Mold or Lyme. Many of our more well known faculty teach protocols at various conferences
yet widespread implementation is still minimal. The Biomedical and Functional medicine community has gained larger
traction by utilizing this concept, thought the majority of treatments are derived from the Naturopathic model.
In an environment that demands increasing evidence standardized protocols for our community provide a way to
improve outcomes, measure data/evidence and increase patient compliance.
Bee Venom Therapy (BVT): Mechanism and Overview for Clinical Application in Chronic Pain, and Complex Disorders
This lecture will introduce a novel therapy rooting in Traditional use that has significant emerging data to support it as an effective therapy for recalcitrant pain conditions as well as its potential use on a variety of chronic diseases such as autoimmunity, neurodegeneration and chronic infection. The lecture will serve as an introduction to the therapeutic application of BVT in a clinical setting and reviews in detail the pharmacologic, pharmacokinetic and dynamic mechanisms of constituents, as well as the extrapolated models of pain signaling such as DNIC, gating and modulation of fos expression.
Currently there is rationale for the therapeutic use of venoms as evidenced by several pharmaceuticals such as ziconotide (Prialt), which supports the long history of use and empirical reports.
It will discuss the framework for diagnostic application and outline basic testing and treatment protocols. We will review the current state of science, and extrapolated rationale for more advanced use as suggested by current research. We will discuss both “live” application and injectable delivery reviewing the pros/cons of each and how best to integrate into an integrated treatment plan.
BIO
Workshop: The Psychology of Chronic Pain and Illness
Smoking Cessation Protocol Utilizing the Pavlovian Response
Changing Anxiety Into An Emotion You Can Use
BIO
The Microbiome Control of Immune Response.
It is estimated that over 80% of our immune tissue is found in the gastrointestinal tract. This same space is occupied by over 40 trillion microorganisms, practically from the day we are born. Overwhelming scientific evidence illustrates the critical role these microbes play in both the function and dysfunction of the immune system. Microbiome initiated immunological dysregulation is a primary cause of many non-infectious diseases such as autoimmunity, allergies, asthma and cancer. This talk will discuss the role of the microbiome in the development and function of the adaptive and innate immune system and their ability to respond to challenge. The talk will also focus on the key molecular pathways that mediate the host-microbiome interactions that regulate daily and homeostatic immune function. The talk will cover the types of microbiome disruptions that lead to immunological dysregulation and an inability to mount an effective response. We will also discuss the role of the microbiome in the recovery from infection and the resulting tissue damage. Finally, we will discuss some potential microbiome targeted, therapeutic approaches to improve immune function and reduce the risk for dysregulation.

Holly Lucille ND,RN

Safiya McCarter, ND, LAc

Landon Opunui, ND
BIO
Cancer Stem Cell Research: Application in Clinical Practice Pts 1 & 2
BIO
Dr. Safiya McCarter is a dual-licensed Naturopathic Doctor and Acupuncturist based in Rockville, Maryland. She is the owner of Flourish and Balance Integrative Medicine, a hybrid mobile/brick and mortar integrative medicine practice.
Dr. McCarter is also a consultant that facilitates organizations in their work of establishing a standard of equity, inclusion, and diversity and applying that standard to the work they do and the services they provide. She has served as adjunct faculty and Co-Director of the Daniel K. Church Center for Social Justice and Diversity at Bastyr University-Washington. In these roles she was involved in curriculum design, development and implementation, and accreditation standards review. She developed and delivered workshops and training on social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion for staff, students and faculty. She has also been a featured panelist and conference presenter on cultural humility, diversity and inclusion specifically as they relate to healthcare delivery and education.
Dr. McCarter currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Black Naturopathic Physicians (NABNP) and serving as President, The Black Acupuncturist Association (BAA) serving as Treasurer and the Acupuncture and as a commissioner for the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM), the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) and serves as Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee and the Board of the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council (MEAC) and serves as Vice-President of Accreditation and Chair of the Education Standards and Equity & Access committees.
Dr. McCarter completed her Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine and MS in Acupuncture and East Asian Medicine at Bastyr University-Washington and BS degrees in Biology and Mathematics at Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, GA.
History: Critical in both medicine and health equity.
You've made a statement, now what?
BIO
Native Hawaiian Concepts of Wellbeing

Jodie Peacock, ND

Suzanne Rosenberg, RPh

Steven Sandberg-Lewis, ND, DHANP
BIO
Dr. Jodie Peacock ND is a 2006 graduate of CCNM and she currently practices at the Root of Health in Oakville, Canada. Her practice focuses on hormonal health especially fertility and preconception and pregnancy care. Jodie is the founder of the Canadian Fertility show which started in 2018 to help educate the public on the importance of preconception health. She has authored the book titled Preconceived a patient’s resource guide to optimizing health before pregnancy. All to help change the conversation around fertility and the environment to improve the health of our next generation. Jodie is the chief medical officer of NFH a Canadian nutraceutical company.
PCOS – how are you treating it?
BIO
Compounds for Chronic Sinusitis
BIO
How Bile, Intestinal Epithelium and the Microbiota Control Homeostasis
How to Order and Interpret GI Imaging to Get the Case Solving Information
I see many patients that suffer from chronic digestive problems, have have extensive diagnostic workups and still either have no definitive diagnosis and, because of that, no effective treatment. I find it is often highly enlightening and often diagnostic to send for and study any esophagoduodenoscopy (EGD) and colonoscopy reports as well as biopsy reports. These will often will reveal essential information. I find a major pitfall is relying on patient recall for these details. Key findings will be lost if the patient does not remember, was not told or did not understand. I will explain how to read these reports in order to gain the full benefit from these studies and some key things to consider in treatment. I will focus on how and why to order an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), conditions typically assessed by EGD/biopsy; how to order and key points to interpretation of a gastric emptying study, HIDA scan and colonoscopy with biopsy. Don’t ignore essential details hidden in the workup that can make all the difference for your patient’s outcome!

Michael Traub, ND, DHANP, CCH, FABNO

Marco Vespignani, ND
BIO
Michael Traub, ND, DHANP, CCH, FABNO was the first naturopathic physician in contemporary times to be appointed to a hospital staff: North Hawaii Community Hospital (NHCH). He served as chairman of the Integrated Healing Committee from the opening of the hospital in 1996 until 2001, and succeeded in gaining approval for the natural medicine formulary in the hospital, including botanical, nutritional and homeopathic medicines. In 1998 he developed the Hawaii Residency Training Program and continues to serve as the Residency Program Director. He has conducted numerous research projects including a pilot study on integrative treatment for breast cancer.
From 2001-2003, Dr. Traub served as President of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP). In 2006, he was honored by the AANP as “Physician of the Year.”
Since 1986, Dr. Traub has been director of an integrative health care center (Ho‘o Lokahi) in Kailua Kona, Hawaii. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at Bastyr University.
Naturopathic Oncologist as Navigator for our Patients – a case presentation
Naturopathic physicians are sometimes placed in a difficult position of advising patients on alternatives to prescription drugs that have been recommended by other health care providers. When can you say “No- I’d recommend against taking that medication.” with confidence, based on evidence of non-clinically meaningful effects or the drug causing harm? This presentation will highlight several examples of commonly prescribed drugs for conditions like osteoporosis, GERD, hypertension, diabetes, joint pain, and others where a detailed informed consent process including the evidence can be an important clinical tool to help your patients make informed decisions about the prescriptions they have received and highlight some specific circumstances in which a recommendation against taking these drugs is justified.
BIO
Bouncing Back From Brain Injury
The brain is in many ways the final frontier of medical care. Clinicians, researchers and lay public are learning more each year that our brains ability to heal and change is unlike any other part of the body, and yet treatments for brain injury are still widely unknown and unexplored. In this session, we will discuss current and emerging therapies that emphasize the neuroregenerative and neuroplastic capabilities of the central nervous system as it relates to traumatic, acquired brain injuries as well as approaches that may impact diseases of aging and neurodegeneration.
What a headache!
REGISTER NOW!
Join us for the Annual Hawaii Doc Talks
The Hyatt Regency Maui
February 10 – 13, 2022

EXHIBITORS!
Learn about and get to know the great exhibitors that will be with us!
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Don't Be Shy. Get In Touch.
If you are interested in joining us in Hawaii in any way, reach out to us!