About Us (AlterMed Research Foundation)                                                                                                

Vision for Complementary and Alternative Medicine CAM (or Integrative Medicine) Research and Education  

In areas where conventional medicine is at its limits and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) shows promise, patients are confident that their conventional physicians and allied health professionals are armed with knowledge of proven integrative medicine and patient navigation backed by mainstream healthcare industry support.  As a result, patients themselves no longer have to be on their own to research and/or to pay out-of-pocket due to insurance exclusion of integrative therapies.  More referrals to CAM practitioners become possible to meet unique patient needs. 

New Medicine: Medicine and diagnostics have embraced more etiology (root cause study), holism, psychoneuroimmunology, and prevention than today's medicine.  Everyone enjoys good health.  Healthy living is commonly practiced.

Objective

To tap and direct new sources of private funding for integrative medicine research to achieve this vision. 

Differentiation

Steward of private funding - promoting integrative medicine research and education meeting gold scientific standards with an open mind and conventional skepticism. 

Board of Directors 

Lisa Corbin, MD,  AlterMed Board President

Dr. Corbin received her medical degree with honors and distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a member of AOA National Honor Medical Society. She is board certified in Internal Medicine. Dr. Corbin joined the University Health Sciences Center faculty before her current post as the Medical Director of The Center for Integrative Medicine (TCFIM) at the University of Colorado Hospital. She was instrumental in the creation of TCFIM in 2001. Dr. Corbin counsels patients interested in complementary/alternative medicine (CAM), provides course direction for CAM electives for medical residents and students, lectures on herbal medicine in the School of Medicine, speaks to physicians and patient groups on CAM, and is actively involved in campus CAM research. She has published original research, scholarly reviews, CME materials and book chapters on CAM. 

Mark Laudenslager, PhD, Director

Mark L. Laudenslager, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychiatry, University Of Colorado Denver School Of Medicine, and the director of the Behavioral Immunology and Endocrinology Laboratory and the Developmental Psychobiology Research Group.  His National Institute of Cancer funded randomized control trial focuses on interventions for chronically distressed populations such as caregivers of blood or marrow transplant recipients as well as breast cancer survivors and their spouse or partner.  These interventions include the use of biofeedback for promotion of stress management and relaxation in the study participants.  The overarching theme of his work is that healthy families improve patient behavioral and medical outcome.  Recently his attention has been directed toward complementary approaches for distress associated with chronic illness in children.  His early research explored behavior immune interactions at a time when psychoneuroimmunology was not widely accepted.  He was central in the organization and founding of the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society, a group which has provided some of the critical evidence base for the role of complementary approaches to health and well being. 

Jill Rickards, CPA, Director

Jill Rickards earned her degree in accounting from Metropolitan State College in Denver and participated in Colorado State University’s Graduate Program in Taxation. She has over 25 years of experience in accounting and is senior partner of Rickards Long & Rulon, LLP. Jill enjoys working with small and medium growth enterprises and their shareholders helping them grow and succeed. “I love people and care about helping them fulfill their dreams,” says Jill. She works with clients in all aspects of accounting including business consulting, income tax, and auditing. Additionally she has extensive experience working with nonprofit entities. Outside of the firm she enjoys golfing, traveling, skiing, boating and spending time with family.   She is interested in advancing Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 

Her Memberships and Associations include:
Colorado Society of CPA’s
Peer Review board of the Colorado Society of CPAs
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Ran One Network for Accountants 

Scott Shannon, MD, Director

Dr. Scott Shannon practices as a holistic child psychiatrist in Fort Collins, Colorado.  His practice includes acupuncture, herbs and nutritional medicine.  Dr. Shannon joined the American Holistic Medical Association in 1978 as a founding member and served as president of that group from 2000-2001.  He currently serves on the American Board of Holistic Medicine. Academic Press published his textbook for professionals, Handbook of Complementary Therapies in Mental Health in 2002.  Rodale Press will publish his book on holistic child psychiatry for parents in 2007.  Dr. Shannon lectures nationally and internationally to professionals on the holistic treatment of psychiatric problems.

Chun-Su Yuan, MD & PhD, Director

Dr. Chun-Su Yuan has a medical degree from China and a doctorate of philosophy degree in Physiology from University of Arizona.  He holds numerous posts at the University of Chicago: (1) Director of the Center for Alternative Medical Therapies, Dept of Anesthesia & Critical Care, (2) Director, Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research, and (3) Cyrus Tang Professor.  He is a highly accomplished physician and internationally recognized with honors and awards. He is well sought out internationally on speaking engagements.  He has published over 100 abstracts and over 150 articles in prestigious professional journals.  His current fields of research include: complementary and alternative medicine, benefits and risks of herbal medicines, and new drug development/preclinical and Phase I,II, III clinical trials.

John Diamant, Co-Founder and Director

Co-Founder of AlterMed Research Foundation. Master Technologist (technical leadership role) at a fortune 50 company, alternative medicine skeptic but open to proven research through sound scientific methods. His engineering education (BS in computer engineering, MS in computer science) grounds him in Western standards of evidence.  Mr. Diamant would like to accelerate the advancement of medicine, having seen a higher rate of advancement in other areas of science and technology.  Applying rigorous scientific study to promising (especially those that already have some scientific evidence) alternative medicine is likely to yield more frequent successes than conventional sources in areas where conventional medicine has not been successful.

Kerri Diamant, Founder and Executive Director

Kerri Diamant has over 15 years of experience in the management of sciences, technology, and business, She is experienced in bio-sciences research, engineering/root cause analysis, fund-raising, event planning, networking/organizational collaboration, grant-writing, marketing, organizational start-up formation, and project/people management.  Ms. Diamant has a BA in Biology, a minor in Biochemistry, and a BS in Electrical Engineering.  Her life being saved by alternative medicine at a young age when conventional medicine had given up hope and her exposure to healthcare from both Taiwan and the United States ignited her passion to enable more research of complementary & alternative medicine.  Thus, the proven ones can be integrated into conventional treatment to increase health options in preventing and managing difficult health issues like cancer and chronic illness.  Kerri Diamant partners and leverages the expertise and resources of the health care industry, volunteers/staff, corporate/individual donors, and the government for AlterMed Research Foundation to achieve its mission, vision, and make a difference in advancing human health.