Melissa S. Barber, ND, MSc, E-RYT, has worked in diverse facets of health research for more than 15 years – from basic science to epidemiology to practice-based research. Dr. Barber has been on the CAse REport (CARE) Steering Committee since 2014 and was a lead author of the CARE Explanation and Elaboration (E&E) document, a manual for writing case reports, published in the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 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. Dr. Barber is currently working in clinical research at an interventional orthopedic and regenerative medicine practice in Lake Oswego, OR.

Dr. Taylor Bean is a Naturopathic Doctor and owner of TaylorMade Wellness in Salmon Arm BC, Canada. Becoming a mother is where her core value of achieving informed consent was born. While her profession taught her to be curious and treat each patient individually, it was her positive birthing experiences that changed her perspective on what a true doctor-patient relationship means. Her career started in Singapore where she supported patients all over SE Asia and now has been supporting Canadians since 2016. Dr. Bean has been drawn to supporting women achieve an optimal pregnancy, labour preparation, paediatric wellness to more complex ailments that involve looking into methylation, genetic variants (MTHFR), chronic infections include mould and lyme disease to complex paediatric conditions (ie ADHD, PANDAS) and digestive complaints.

The concern and questions around vaccines is growing substantially around the globe. With this comes a lot of fear and concern about infections, vaccines, choices, traveling abroad and simply not being fully informed before making a decision around vaccinations. As one of very few ND’s in British Columbia, Canada who originally obtained the Immunization Certification, Dr. Bean would like to present on some key areas around vaccinations that we as practitioners should know and what we can provide for our patients when they have questions. This should not be a topic of fear or anger but a topic that is honest, forthcoming and transparent. Practitioners should know what resources to offer their patients who have questions around vaccines along with knowing where they can go for current and reputable information. From simply knowing how to locate a vaccine insert, utilizing annual surveillance reports from the CDC, understanding how adjuvants work and what along with what they are how they are researched, to understanding infant immunity as it pertains to vaccination.

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.

Although approved for glucose reduction in type 2 diabetes, semaglutide (Ozempic®) has gained considerable interest from patients because of its documented effects on weight loss in people without diabetes. People are reporting an overall reduced interest in food! Furthermore, anecdotal reports are attributing the drug with reduced cravings for alcohol and other substances. How does it work? What do the data say regarding its clinical effects? How do I prescribe it? Is it safe? Is off-label use appropriate? Learn about the next generation of GLP-1 agonists in this presentation including current controversies and other drugs in this class on the horizon, including oral agents.

Benzodiazepine receptor agonist (BZRA) drugs, e.g., Clonazepam (Klonopin®), Lorazepam (Ativan®), Temazepam (Restoril®), Alprazolam (Xanax®), and Diazepam (Valium®) are commonly prescribed for anxiety and insomnia, but have significant health risks. Older adults in particular are vulnerable to increased frailty, falls and mortality risks from use of BZRAs. Evidence supports the use of cognitive behavioral therapy and individualized tapering plans for reduction of BZRA use, however access to CBT limits the impact CBT can have for many adults. Also, few adults are aware of effective alternatives. Recently result suggests BZRAs are particularly causative for increased morbidity in older adults, and importantly, functional improve may result when use of the drugs is stopped. Active research at the National University of Natural Medicine is surveying older adults to learn their preferences for alternatives to BZRA drugs, as well as desirable characteristics for non-drug alternatives. NUNM is also testing non-drug educational and mind-body interventions for BZRA tapering, and progress will be shared in this presentation.

Recent findings in translational and clinical research support underlying tenants of naturopathic conceptual models of health and disease. This presentation will deliver a summary of ten important translation or clinical research findings that support naturopathic philosophy, concepts and/or treatments published within the past year.

Dr. Kristen Coles is a licensed naturopathic physician and acupuncturist committed to spreading the benefits of natural medicine. Her tips for staying healthy through using natural remedies have been featured on Hawaii News Now, Doctor Health Radio, Everyday Wellness TV series, and the Bastyr Center for Natural Health newsletter. As a public speaker and educator she has lectured at the AANP national conference, women’s groups, hospitals, UH nursing school, church groups and special interest groups. Dr. Coles holds a B.A. in psychology from Naropa University, a master’s degree in acupuncture and oriental medicine from Bastyr University and a doctorate in naturopathic medicine from Bastyr University. In her private practice at Steelsmith Natural Health Center in Honolulu, Hawaii she uses the best of traditional natural medicine to provide cutting-edge therapies with extraordinary results.

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.

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.

Dr. Jean-Jacques Dugoua, or Dr. JJ as he is affectionately known, is a naturopathic doctor, clinical pharmacologist and researcher. He is the Chief Medical Officer of the Liberty Clinic in downtown Toronto and the first Naturopathic Doctor (ND) to practice at the Toronto Western Hospital in the Artist Health Center, one of the few NDs practicing in a hospital in Canada. He has worked with the Motherisk Program at Sick Kids Hospital and was an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy.

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.

We learn to appreciate the value of sleep when we develop a sleep disorder and our lovely restful sleep is gone. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss clinical interventions for sleep disorders such as insomnia and frequent waking. Sleep hygiene will be briefly discussed. Interventions will include magnesium, bergamot, glycine, phosphatidylserine, GABA, theanine, chamomile and others.

Black box warnings are the strictest labeling requirements that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can mandate for prescription drugs. One study found that within a 30-month period, more than 40% of patients within an ambulatory care setting received at least 1 medication that carried a black box warning for a serious adverse drug reaction that could potentially affect them.

The purpose of this presentation is to review common drugs with black box warnings, their adverse effects, risks and contraindications.

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

Physicians inadvertently perpetuate and cause harm within the therapeutic doctor patient relationship through many types of bias. Racism, classism, ageism, sizeism, sexism and ableism are each present within all of us, and each deserves it’s own dismantling process. This talk will help us recognize ableism within ourselves as physicians, and the insidious ways in which this impacts our patients. First we must acknowledge that we all hold able-bodiedness as the default experience of humans. Medical school taught us that “healthy” is “normal”, and “unhealthy” is “abnormal”. Our culture has simultaneously taught us that if we have bias we are “bad” and if we don’t, we are “good”. Together we can start to dismantle this binary system that holds us separate from ourselves and our patients. We will explore examples of able-bodied privilege, and patient impacts when our privilege impacts our care.

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.

Talk centering around diagnosing and treating exocrine pancreas insufficiency (EPI). Discussion of presentation, underlying causes, testing and treatment. We will go into depth about how to rule in or out this condition. We will discuss pharmaceutical treatments as well as natural agents to treat. What testing is available and how much efficacy does it have. Also we will discuss using vegetarian verse animal based enzymes for treatment as well as prognosis of care.

Talk centering around diagnosing and treating bile acid diarrhea (BAD). Discussion of presentation, underlying causes, testing and treatment available for this condition. We will go into depth about how to rule in or out this condition. We will discuss pharmaceutical treatments as well as natural agents to treat. We will discuss what testing is available and how much efficacy it has as well as amount of validation. Also, we will discuss using a variety of nutraceuticals options for treatment and pros and cons of different treatments.

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.

Dr. Kleronomos became interested in medicine as a Corpsman in the Navy, where he served with the Marine Corps elite Force Reconnaissance Team.
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.

Within the integrated medical professional paradigms there is an emphasis on Individualized Care and
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.

Chronic Pain is an increasing problem with significant impact on both patients and the medical system. There are also significant concerns regarding safety of many interventions and the overall efficacy of typical therapy for many complex disorders is limited.
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.

Dr. Misha Kleronomos has doctorate in Health Psychology, and has been a licensed therapist for over 20 years, and also teaches psychology full time at Oregon State Univeristy. She has worked in a variety of settings, including non-profits working with families and children and adolescents with behavioral disorders, to hospitals, medical clinics, and currently her own private practice. She treats a variety of patients, including those with chronic health conditions. She is also the designated therapist for the IAFF in her area to treat first responders in crisis or in need of outpatient services following inpatient treatment. In addition to pain and health conditions, Dr. Kleronomos specializes in anxiety disorders, trauma, depression, obesity, mindfulness, and health and nutritional changes. The foundation of her practice is utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy, while also tailoring each session to the individual patient using psychodynamic approaches, mind body medicine, and mindfulness training. Dr. Kleronomos has two teenage boys. She enjoys outdoor activities, spending time with family, the dog, and is a self-described “fitness nut”.

Chronic pain and chronic illnesses have deep psychological components that need to be considered when treating them medically. This workshop will give the clinical foundations of the psychological issues facing patients with chronic pain and illness, including psychological and mind-body interventions to treat them.

According to the US department of Health, smokers, on average, make between 8-11 attempts to quit before they are successful. Smoking cessation programs and protocols are missing a core psychological component, that of looking at the effect of classical conditioning on continued dependence. The described protocol to be shared for Doc Talks, will teach practitioners how to identify the Pavlovian triggers for smoking that continue to plague smokers even after the physiological withdrawal has been removed, and ways to treat this effect quickly and easily to eliminate both the physiological discomfort of smoking cessation, but also the continued psychological dependence.

Anxiety get a bad rap, but anxiety in its purest form is not negative. In its purest form, anxiety drives us, motivates us, keeps us moving forward, keeps us productive, and helps us perform. In the negative it can paralyze us, make us physically uncomfortable, and even make us sick. Utilizing what Dr. Kleronomos calls the 5 P’s, this Doc Talk will teach how to evaluate bad vs good anxiety, and how to manipulate bad anxiety into a form that works for rather than against us.

Kiran Krishnan is a Research Microbiologist and has been involved in the dietary supplement and nutrition market for the past 20 years. He comes from a strict research background having spent several years with hands-on R&D in the fields of molecular medicine and microbiology at the University of Iowa. He left University research to take several leadership positions in global companies in Business Development and Product Development.. Most recently, Kiran is a Co-Founder and the Chief Scientific Officer at Microbiome Labs, a leader in microbiome and probiotic research. He is a frequent lecturer on the Human Microbiome at Medical and Nutrition Conferences. He is an expert guest on National Radio and Satellite radio and has been a guest speaker on several Health Summits as a microbiome expert. He is currently involved in over 18 novel human clinical trials on probiotics and the human microbiome. Kiran is also on the Scientific Advisory Board for 7 other companies in the industry. Kiran has published clinical trials in peer-reviewed, scientific journals and several global patents in his name.

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. 

Dr. Holly Lucille, ND, RN, is a nationally recognized and licensed naturopathic doctor, educator, natural products consultant, and television and radio host. She is also the author of several books including Creating and Maintaining Balance: A Women’s Guide to Safe, Natural, Hormone Health and The Healing Power of Trauma Comfrey. An acclaimed expert in the field of integrative medicine, Dr. Lucille lectures on a variety of natural health topics. Her appearances include national media programs and networks such as Dr. Oz and The Doctors. She is regularly quoted in both consumer and peer journals, and was listed in Time magazine’s “Alt List” as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People.” In 2012 she launched her own talk show, “Myth-Defying with Dr. Holly and is now the host of the podcast “Mindful Medicine” on RadioMD and ITunes as well as the vice chair of the Institute for Natural Medicine. Dr. Lucille believes in the science, art and mystery of healing and has a heartfelt passion for the individual wellness of all people. Her private practice in Los Angeles, focuses on comprehensive naturopathic medicine and individualized care.

Whether practitioners have had additional post graduate training in oncology or not, we all see patients who are going through conventional cancer treatments. How can we, as practitioners, have best practice to support our patient’s best outcomes? Part of it, of course, is continuing to recommend proper diets and lifestyle measures – still two of the best preventative measures of cancer. But it also requires being open to new discoveries that botanicals – possibly more than conventional drugs – can target chemo-resistant cancer stem cells that spark recurring metastasis. Even when patients respond well to conventional treatment, cancer stem cells can instigate return of tumors even more aggressive than the original condition. However, recent leading-edge research of botanical extracts and their actions on cancer stem cells may provide patients and practitioners alike with better – and truly effective – integrative treatment options.

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. 

As practitioners, we understand that taking a thorough history during a patient visit is critical if we are to develop a treatment that is appropriate and effective. The investigative approach taken in a clinical encounter is the same that is needed when working toward health equity. If we are to create equity in health we must understand what the obstacles have been and the vestiges of history that continue to impede our progress.

In the wake of global civil unrest, numerous organizations and institutions published statements of solidarity. Many in the integrative health realm, have pledged to take a deep and critical look at themselves in an effort to begin a journey of organizational and institutional transformation. The sentiment is admirable but what does this process actually entail? What systems need to be in place in order to move your institution/organization forward on this path?

As a Native Hawaiian, Dr. Opunui is a naturopathic physician that weaves the traditional views of health and nature with the scientific understanding of plants and the human body by integrating natural and modern medicine to restore health. Dr. Opunui believes in empowering his patients to take control of their health by engaging them in the healing process through education and equiping them with the tools for health transformation. Dr. Opunui practices on the islands of ʻOahu, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi while also serving as the first naturopathic physician medical director of a Federally funded Native Hawaiian Health Care System.

The indigenous people of Hawaiʻi (Kānaka Maoli) have a rich history of holistic wellbeing. There is much strength to be gained from the enduring values and wisdom of Hawaiian ancestors. It is upon this foundation that we can stand firmly and collaboratively create innovative solutions to systemic problems affecting the wellbeing of individuals, families, communities and beyond. This presentation will share a framework of wellness that overlaps with and expands upon naturopathic concepts of wellbeing with a focus on self care, ʻohana (family) care and community care.

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.

Polycystic ovarian syndrome is the most commonly diagnosed endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. PCOS can cause significant symptoms and distress for women during their reproductive years. The hormonal dysregulation that accompanies the diagnosis can be regulated with well researched lifestyle, dietary and nutritional changes. Often patients will be recommended oral contraceptives from a young age without their diagnosis being properly explained. Let’s change that conversation and empower women to take action to help regulate the endocrine system to optimize their hormonal balance and future fertility.

Suzanne is a compounding pharmacist in Lake Oswego Oregon. She has been compounding for the naturopthic community for over 20 years beginning her career at an integrative pharmacy with Wild Oat and then opening the pharmacies for New Seasons. In 2008 Suznane opened Community Compounding Pharmacy which is a compounding only pharmacy with a focus on compounding for the naturopathic community. Suzanne has a background in herbal medicine and was fortunate to study for 2 years with Casacade. Suzanne spends her free time with her family and many animals in Southeast Portland.

During this talk I will discuss treatment options for chronic sinusitis. I will discuss when to choose oral antibiotics and options for nasal spray and sinus irrigation treatments. I will discuss various formulations and the mechanism of actions of the drugs in the formulations.

Dr. Steven Sandberg-Lewis has been a practicing naturopathic physician for over 40 years and a professor at NUNM since 1985. His private practice is at Hive Mind Medicine in Portland, Oregon (www.hivemindmedicine.org), a collaborative practitioner group focused on digestive and mental/emotional health. Sandberg-Lewis is a popular international lecturer, presents webinars and is frequently interviewed on issues of digestive health and disease. He is the author of the near-monthly column entitled “Functional Gastroenterology Bolus” in the Townsend letter and the medical textbook Functional Gastroenterology: Assessing and Addressing the Causes of Functional Digestive Disorders, Second edition, 2017. He is currently writing books on gastroesophageal reflux and inflammatory bowel disease. Within gastroenterology, he has special interest and expertise in inflammatory bowel disease (including microscopic colitis), irritable bowel syndrome (including post-infectious IBS), Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), hiatal hernia, gastroesophageal and bile reflux (GERD), biliary dyskinesia, and chronic states of nausea and vomiting.

I have been lecturing on the sterolbiome for a few years now – the endocrine system in the intestines which is orchestrated by the bile. I will include the fascinating and essential ways that bile exerts central control of blood sugar, detoxification and inflammation and immunity via the nuclear receptors FXR, PXR, VDR and G-protein coupled receptors. Recently I have learned that there are several more nuclear receptors controlled by bile salts which control gastric, small intestine and colonic motility. These include LXR alpha (regulating cholesterol, fatty acid and glucose homeostasis) and CAR (regulating detoxification of xenobiotic substances). My presentation will include a thorough review of bile botanicals and nutrients and therapeutic uses of bile salts. Urosdiol, a prescription bile acid will be featured due to it’s far-acting antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective effects.

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 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 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.

Dr. Marco Vespignani is a Naturopathic Doctor licensed in Washington and California. He is currently the Medical Director at Seattle Integrative Medicine, a private group clinic in Seattle. He focuses his clinical care on patients experiencing autoimmune, neurodegenerative and complex pain syndromes. In addition he is an adjunct faculty member at Bastyr University, where he received his medical training. He has written articles and contributed to an Integrative Neurology textbook expected to publish in late 2020. Dr. Marco is also an experienced public speaker, having lectured throughout the three states he has called home: Washington, California and Hawaii.

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. 

The differential diagnosis of complex headache syndromes can be difficult. In this talk the speaker will review his 15 year experience with clinical management of headaches. Red flags, clinical pearls, referral strategies to help primary care providers with the evaluation and management of headache.