Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine

Alschuler, Lise
Associate Director of the Fellowship / Clinical Professor, Medicine
alschuler@email.arizona.edu

Dr. Lise Alschuler is a naturopathic doctor with board certification in naturopathic oncology. She is a Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Arizona where she is the Associate Director of the Fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine. She maintains a naturopathic oncology practice out of Naturopathic Specialists, LLC. Dr. Alschuler co-hosts a podcast, Five To Thrive Live! and is co-founder of the iTHRIVE Plan, a lifestyle app for cancer survivors, and was the founding Executive Director of TAP Integrative, a nonprofit web-based educational resource for integrative practitioners. She has been an invited speaker to more than 100 scientific/medical conferences, has authored numerous articles and book chapters, and has been an investigator on several research studies. She is co-author of Definitive Guide to Cancer, now in its 3^rd edition, and Definitive Guide to Thriving After Cancer. She is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions including 2014 American Association of Naturopathic Physicians’ Physician of the Year and the Sheikh Zayed International Award in Naturopathy in 2020. Dr. Alschuler is past-President of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and a founding board member, immediate Past-President and current Board member of the Oncology Association of Naturopathic Physicians.

Burke, Molly K
Director of Online Education
mkburke@email.arizona.edu

Molly K. Burke joined the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine (AWCIM) at the University of Arizona in February of 2000. She has enjoyed being a part of all aspects of creating and delivering online educational offerings. As Director of Online Education since 2012, she works with program directors, faculty, and the development team to design, create, improve and maintain our many and diverse online educational offerings. She is passionate about exploring new ways to provide integrative medicine focused learning to health care practitioners and patients.

Additionally, she has led efforts at AWCIM with offerings for the public - the largest being a mobile health app based on motivational interviewing, integrative principles, and health coaching. She also worked the research side to evaluate the use of the app across a diverse population. Most recently she led the launch of CanHEAL, an integrative cancer resource toolkit for patients, caregivers, and health providers.

She is a board member for Integrative Medicine for the Underserved (IM4US) - a national non-profit organization that supports integrative providers of care to those who are under resourced.

Chiasson, Ann Marie
Director of the Fellowship / Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
chiasson@email.arizona.edu

Ann Marie Chiasson, MD, MPH, is the Director of the Fellowship at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine. She is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the University of Arizona.  Dr. Chiasson graduated with honors from Dalhousie School of Medicine in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and completed a residency in Family Medicine at the University of British Columbia. She is board certified in Integrative Medicine, Family Medicine, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine.  Dr. Chiasson currently serves as the Chair for the American Board of Integrative Medicine.

Crocker, Robert (Rocky)
Director, Strategic Clinical Planning and Implementation / Co-Director, IHeLp / Co-Director, IHW Coaching / Clinical Assistant Professor, Medicine
crocker@email.arizona.edu

Robert Crocker joined the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine in 2012. His first task was to open the Integrative Health Center in Phoenix and is instrumental in future health centers. He has been involved in the development of the Integrative health and lifestyle program, has been a key leader for the Integrative Health Coaching Program, and is deeply involved in the IMPACT study for clinical outcomes.

Prior to coming to AzCIM, Dr. Crocker was with American Specialty Health (ASH) as its chief medical officer. He was involved in the management and ongoing development of the company's medical management programs and products, as well as oversight of ASH's clinical service operations.

Dr. Crocker had a distinguished career in private practice and as national medical director for both UNICARE/Cost Care and WellPoint Health Networks. He also previously served as chief of staff at River Oaks Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, and as a part-time clinical instructor in the University of Mississippi's family medicine program.

Dr. Crocker is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Practice and has held leadership positions in many industry organizations, including America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and the American Association of Preferred Provider Organizations (AAPPO). In addition, Dr. Crocker served on the board of directors of URAC from 2001 through 2010 including serving as chairman of URAC's board of directors.

Dr. Crocker holds a bachelor's of science degree in chemistry from Mississippi College, he later graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine and he is a graduate of the Fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. He has served as a health consultant, provided oversight of previous humanitarian relief efforts in Central Asia, and more recently has been working with aboriginal communities in Australia.

Horwitz, Randy
Medical Director / Director of Integrative Medicine Distinction Track / Professor, Medicine
randyh@email.arizona.edu

Randy Horwitz.MD, PhD is the Medical Director of the Center for Integrative Medicine and a Professor of Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.

He received a BS (Biochemistry) and an MD from the University of Illinois, and a PhD from the University of Florida (Immunology & Molecular Biology). He completed postdoctoral research training at the National Institutes of Health, residency training in Internal Medicine at University Hospitals, Cleveland (Case Western Reserve University), and a three-year fellowship in Allergy & Clinical Immunology at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Horwitz also completed a Residential Fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, with a focus on mind-body approaches to illness. He is triple board certified in Internal Medicine, Allergy & Clinical Immunology, and Integrative Medicine.

In 2012, his textbook Integrative Rheumatology was released (Oxford University Press). In 2016, Dr. Horwitz was appointed to the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) and USMLE test committee for Immunology. He also served as the Founding Chair of the American Board of Integrative Medicine (ABOIM).

Lebensohn, Patricia
Director of Integrative Medicine in Residency / Professor, Family and Community Medicine
plebenso@email.arizona.edu

Dr. Lebensohn, a Professor of  Family and Community Medicine at the University of Arizona, is a family physician with training in Integrative Medicine.

She grew up in Argentina, where she completed her medical, psychiatric, and family therapy training. After immigrating to the US, Dr. Lebensohn did a family medicine residency at St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse, NY.

In 1993, Dr. Lebensohn joined the faculty at the University of Arizona Department of Family and Community Medicine and has been teaching medical students and residents since then. She completed a fellowship in faculty development and Integrative Medicine in 2005. She created and developed several innovative programs in the family medicine residency: a longitudinal behavioral health program; 4-year residency options for UA family medicine residents: sports medicine, fellowship, and the Integrative Family Medicine program. Dr. Lebensohn served as the family medicine residency program director for 8 years and is presently one of the mentors for the Societies program at the UA College of Medicine.

Personally, she has two adult children and five grandchildren and loves to be physically active in nature: biking, swimming, bike or backpaking and practicing yoga She enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, making vegan dishes. She has a passion for teaching physicians in training to be true healers and to find joy in the art of medicine.

Lemmey, Tara
Leadership Consultant
tara@lensventures.com

Tara is Chairperson of LENS Ventures. LENS is lauded for its' options-made model-a unique approach to opening new markets and focusing on platforms. With an eye to innovation, Tara has triggered strategic entrepreneurial change within such companies as American Express OPEN, Nokia and BestBuy, focusing on innovation, next generation strategies, new markets, investments and acquisitions. In the start-up realm, Tara lead the strategy for Ribbit, which was acquired by British Telecom in 2008, and served on the board of Discovery Mining, which was acquired by Interwoven in 2008.

Tara is the technology Co-Chair of the Markle Task Force on National Security in the Information Age. The innovation work in the Markle reports has influenced fundamental restructuring of how our government views intelligence and national security in our post 9/11 world. Tara is also known as the "Ambassador from Silicon Valley" on the Embassy of the Future Commission where she serves with 26 former Ambassadors to bring innovation to the State Department by "rethinking US embassies around the world."

She also founded three technology companies that were trailblazers in new markets and was on the founding board of TRUSTe, a leader in online privacy.

Earlier in her career, Tara was President of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) where she worked to galvanize global initiatives in areas of intellectual property, encryption, and privacy.

Tara has been published in Wired, Business 2.0, Business Week, and the Harvard Business Review. She is an active delegate at the Aspen Institute, Fortune Brainstorm, and Fortune Most Powerful Women Summits. She has been a visiting lecturer at Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Columbia, and UC Berkeley and is a regular commentator on National Public Radio. Most recently, she spoke about "risk vs. mission" at TED India where she affirmed that in order to allow for success and innovation, companies must "re-calibrate legal, ops, and management to make sure requirements aren't getting in the way of the mission."

Tara is also the CEO of Net Power & Light; currently in stealth.

Maizes, Victoria
Executive Director / Andrew Weil Endowed Chair in Integrative Medicine / Professor, Medicine / Professor, Public Health
vmaizes@email.arizona.edu

Dr. Victoria Maizes is Executive Director of the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and a Professor of Medicine, Family Medicine and Public Health. Internationally recognized as a leader in integrative medicine, she stewarded the growth of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine from a small program educating four residential fellows per year to a designated Center of Excellence training more than 500 residents and fellows annually.

Dr Maizes has pioneered multiple innovative educational programs including the Integrative Family Medicine Program, and Integrative Medicine in Residency, two national models for educating primary care physicians. As founding co-chair of the education committee of the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine, the mission of which is to promote integrative medicine, Dr. Maizes led a team of educators developing objectives for medical students in integrative medicine.

A graduate of Barnard College, Dr Maizes received her MD from the University of California, San Francisco, completed her residency in Family Medicine at the University of Missouri, Columbia and her Fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. Dr. Maizes speaks worldwide to audiences on integrative medical education, women’s health, healthy aging, nutrition, and cancer. She has published numerous articles and book chapters on integrative medicine and is the co-editor of the Oxford University textbook Women’s Integrative Health; Be Fruitful: The Essential Guide to Maximizing Fertility and Giving Birth to a Healthy Child, which was published in 2013. In 2009, Dr. Maizes was named one of the world’s 25 intelligent optimists by ODE magazine.

Richardson, Kieran
Director of Operations
kieranr@email.arizona.edu

As the director of operations for the Center, my areas of responsibility include: IT, HR, Facilities, Finances, Marketing, Business Development/Partnerships and more.

Prior to coming to the Center, I was the product manager for a start-up software company, an instructional designer/project manager for both small vendors and large corporations, a high school teacher and a newspaper reporter.  

You can see the details of that experience on my linkedin profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kieranrichardson.

Ricker, Mari
Associate Director of Integrative Medicine in Residency and Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine
rickerm@email.arizona.edu

Dr. Ricker graduated from the University of Virginia with a BA in Biology and from the University of Arizona with her degree in Medicine. She completed her Family Medicine Residency at Oregon Health and Science University, in Portland Oregon. After residency, Dr. Ricker served as Chief Resident and Faculty Development Fellow. During this fellowship year Dr. Ricker also completed the Fellowship in Integrative Medicine though the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine.

Dr. Ricker is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. She practices outpatient Family Medicine. She is the Director for the Integrative Medicine in Residency Program at the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine.

Sternberg, Esther
Director of Research / Inaugural Andrew Weil Chair for Research in Integrative Medicine / Professor, Medicine / Professor, Psychology / Director, UArizona Institute on Place, Wellbeing & Performance
esternberg@email.arizona.edu

Dr. Sternberg is internationally recognized for her discoveries in brain-immune interactions and the effects of the brain's stress response on health: the science of the mind-body interaction. A dynamic speaker, recognized by her peers as a spokesperson for the field, she translates complex scientific subjects in a highly accessible manner, with a combination of academic credibility, passion for science and compassion as a physician.

Currently Professor of Medicine and Research Director, Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Dr. Sternberg is Founding Director, of the UA Institute on Place, Wellbeing & Performance, a unique interdisciplinary Institute linking biomedical, health professionals and design professionals to research and create places supporting health and wellbeing. She received her M.D. degree and trained in rheumatology at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. She previously served on the faculty at Washington University, St. Louis, MO (1980-86); was Senior Scientist and Section Chief at the National Institutes of Health (1986-2012); and was Research Professor at American University (Washington, DC)

In addition to numerous publications in leading scientific journals, she is reviewer and editorial board member for many scientific journals, has edited several textbooks, has authored two popular books: The Balance Within: The Science Connecting Health and Emotions (W.H. Freeman & Co., 2000, paperback H. Holt 2001; Dutch 2001, Chinese 2002; Japanese 2005) and best-selling Healing Spaces: The Science of Place and Well-being (Harvard University Press, 2009; paperback 2010; German 2011; Korean 2013); and created and hosted a PBS television special, The Science of Healing, based on her books. Dr. Sternberg is a regular contributor to the "Books et al." section of Science Magazine and writes a column for Arthritis Today (readership 4 million). She lectures nationally and internationally to lay and scientific audiences and is frequently interviewed on radio, television, film, Web, and print media on the mind-body connection; place and wellbeing; 'stress and illness'; spirituality, love, and health; including on NPR Radio's Krista Tippett's Speaking of Faith, On Being, Science Friday; PBS Television's The New Medicine, Life (Part 2; international radio and television (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation; Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Voice of America).

While at NIH, Dr. Sternberg served as Chief of the Section on Neuroendocrine Immunology & Behavior, National Institute of Mental Health; Director, Integrative Neural Immune Program, NIMH/NIH; Co-Chair NIH Intramural Program on Research on Women's Health; and established and directed the NIH-Quebec Fonds de Recherche International Research Career Transition Award Program. Her numerous original scientific and review articles and textbook chapters are published in leading scientific journals including Science, Nature Reviews Immunology, Nature Medicine, The New England Journal of Medicine, Scientific American and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In recognition of her work, she received the Public Health Service's Superior Service Award; Arthritis Foundation's William R. Felts Award for Excellence in Rheumatology Research; United States Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service Staff Recognition Award; FDA Commissioner's Special Citation; NIH Director's Challenge Award; NIMH Director's Merit Award; elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation; Committee member of the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine; testified before Congress; World Health Organization advisor; member of the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) Literature Selection Technical Review Committee for selection of journals for PubMed. Dr. Sternberg has lectured and keynoted at the Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C.); Nobel Forum (Karolinska Institute, Stockholm); Royal Society of Medicine (London, UK); Woman's Heart Day (Madison Square Garden NYC & Verizon Center Washington, DC), TEDx Tucson. She has chaired many national and international scientific conferences; is past-President of the International Society for Neuroimmunomodulation; moderated a panel with the Dalai Lama (2005); was a panelist at the United Nations (Sept. 11, 2008); co-directed a concurrent NLM Exhibition and video on "Emotions and Disease"; invited delegate Fortune Magazine's Most Powerful Women Summit.

For her accomplishments, which galvanized establishment of the field of brain immune interactions, Dr. Sternberg is recognized and the National Library of Medicine as one of 300 women physicians who changed the Face of Medicine (www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/), and by NIH with the Anita B. Roberts "Distinguished Women Scientists at NIH" Lectureship (2012). In recognition of her contributions to medicine & leadership in Neuroimmunology, Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) awarded Dr. Sternberg an Honorary Degree of Doctor in Medicine (Doctorate Honoris Causa) on the 300^th anniversary of Trinity College Dublin School of Medicine. For her leadership at the interface of the fields of design and health she is advising the US Green Building Council, the American Institute of Architects, the US General Services Administration, the Institute of Medicine and the US Department of Defense on the impact of the built and natural environment on human health outcomes. In 2012 she was invited to Keynote the Vatican's 27^th Pontifical Council for Healthcare Workers and met with Pope Benedict XVI on the subject of the impact of Place on Wellbeing and Spirituality. <www.esthersternberg.com><http://integrativemedicine.arizona.edu/about/directors/sternberg>

Weil, Andrew
Founder & Director / Professor of Medicine and Public Health / Lovell-Jones Endowed Chair in Integrative Medicine

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

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

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

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