Lisa Corbin, MD

AlterMed Founding President Emeritus

Dr. Corbin served as the Medical Director of Center for Integrative Medicine at University of Colorado Hospital prior to the current director. 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 (TCIM) at the University of Colorado Hospital. She was instrumental in the creation of TCIM in 2001. Dr. Corbin counsels patients interested in complementary and 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.

Chun-Su Yuan, MD & PhD, Director (Served as an active AlterMed Director from 2006 to 2019)

Dr. Chun-Su Yuan is the Cyrus Tang Professor in the Department of Anesthesia & Critical Care, Pritzker School of Medicine, and Director of the Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research, University of Chicago. Since 1994, Dr. Yuan has been at the University of Chicago conducting clinical trials for new drug development, especially methylnaltrexone for opioid bowel dysfunction. Based on his groups’ study, the University of Chicago licensed methylnaltrexone to pharmaceutical industry in 2001. This novel compound was approved by the U.S. FDA in 2008.  By 2015, this drug was approved for use in over 60 countries worldwide. Dr. Yuan’s another major field of investigation is complementary and integrative medicine, especially natural product research. He has over 300 publications related to botanicals and new drug development.  Dr. Yuan served as the primary editor of the Textbook of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (1st and 2nd editions). In addition, Dr. Yuan is the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Chinese Medicine, the oldest complementary and integrative medicine journal in the U.S.

Mark Laudenslager, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry (Served from 2010 to 2020, Deceased in 2020)

Mark L. Laudenslager, Ph.D. was 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 early research explored behavior and 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. He received the Norman Cousins award from that society in 2013 for his contributions to the field of psychoneuroimmunology. His National Institute of Cancer funded randomized control trial focused on an intervention for chronically distressed populations such as caregivers of blood or marrow transplant recipients,  The intervention was quite successful in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression in caregivers. The overarching theme of his research is that healthy families improve patient behavioral and medical outcome. His latest funding from Patient centered Outcome Research Institute was  focused on improved patient quality of life stemming from improved caregiver well-being.  Dr. Laudenslager joined the AlterMed board in 2010.

Edzard Ernst, MD, PhD, FRCP, FRCPEd

Professor Ernst is the Laing Chair in Complementary Medicine at the Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter & Plymouth in the UK. He is a peer reviewer for dozens of journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). He is also a review author for the Cochrane Collaboration . He is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of two medical journals (Perfusion and FACT (Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies)). He describes his approach to complementary medicine as applying science and not politics. He critically appraises complementary medicine claims with evidence-based perspective so the ones that pass rigorous scientific scrutiny can be effectively integrated into conventional medical practice. His research relates to many areas of complementary medicine with an emphasis on efficacy and safety. It mainly involves clinical trials, surveys and systematic reviews/meta-analyses. In 1993, he established the Chair in Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter. Prior to that, he was the Head of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Vienna with a staff of around 100 people. He is trained in complementary medicine (acupuncture, autogenic training, herbalism, homoeopathy, massage therapy and spinal manipulation). Professor Ernst has published more than 40 books (e.g. The desktop guide to complementary and alternative medicine) and in excess of 700 articles in peer-reviewed medical literature (including Lancet, JAMA, etc). He has been awarded 13 scientific prizes and serves as advisor to many institutions.

Sylvie Dodin (Dewailly), MD, MSc

Dr. Dodin is a gynecologist, clinical scientist and senior professor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Quebec, Canada. She is also the director of the Center Menopause Quebec, and holds the Andre Chagnon Chair for promoting an integrated approach to health, She has been principal investigator for many Canadian and international multi-center studies. Dr. Dodin has conducted trials evaluating complementary approaches (flaxseed, hypnosis, massage, and omega-3 fatty acids). Her expertise is in women’s health- menopause, phytoestrogen, and clinical studies. Dr. Dodin is the author of more than 70 medical articles, book chapters, and scientific communications. She has given more than 170 presentations at provincial, national and international conferences and symposia – most related to women’s health.

Vinjar Fonnebo, MD, PhD

Dr. Fonnebo is the Director of National Research Center in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NAFKAM) and a professor of Preventive Medicine at University of Tromso, Norway. NAFKAM funded by the Norwegian government, is the leading CAM research institution in Norway. NAFKAM has international partners in several parts of the world. Dr. Fonnebo has broad CAM review expertise especially in the review of trials, cohort studies and surveys, and developing research methodologies.

Harley Goldberg, DO

Dr. Goldberg, is the Director of Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the Director of Spine Care for the Northern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program. He is also the Director of Spine Care Services and Chief of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Santa Theresa Medical Center in San Jose. Dr. Goldberg has co-authored research studies published by peer-reviewed journals including the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Goldberg is on the Editorial Board for several journals, including Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies, Natural Standard, and Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. He is also a founding board member of the International Society for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research.

Angelo A Izzo, Ph.D

Dr. Izzo is an Associate Professor of Phytotherapy and Pharmacognosy at the School of Pharmacy of Naples (University of Naples Federico II, Italy). Dr Izzo is involved in both clinical and experimental pharmacology of herbal products. His research in clinical pharmacology includes the study of the interactions between herbal drugs and prescribed medicines. His research in experimental pharmacology includes the study of receptors for plant derived compounds as well as the evaluation of the molecular mechanism underlying the clinical use of the most used herbal drugs. Dr Izzo serves as a reviewer for a number of international journals and he is member of the Editorial Board of Phytotherapy Research, Focus on Alternative and Complementary Medicine, and British Journal of Pharmacology. He has published more than one hundred articles in peer-reviewed international journals. In addition, he is co-author of phytotherapy books published in English and Italian. He is member of the Board of Directors of the Italian Society of Pharmacognosy. In 2002, he has been also the recipient of the “Alberico Benedicenti Prize” (2002), from the Italian Society of Pharmacology, for its scientific productivity in the 2000 and 2001 years.

Hyangsook Lee, KMD, PhD

Dr. Hyangsook Lee is an assistant professor at Department of Meridian and Acupoint, College of Korean Medicine, SangJi University, Wonju, South Korea. She has published several systematic reivews on acupuncture and is continuously working on acupuncture research. Her CAM review expertise includes trials and reviews of acupuncture, Eastern-Asian Medicine including Traditional Chinese Medicine, and placebo. Dr. Lee is a reviewer for several international journals and a member of the international editorial board of Focus on Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

Stephen M. Sagar, BSc (Hons), MB.BS MRCP FRCR FRCPC

Dr. Sagar is a radiation oncologist at the Juravinski Cancer Centre in Canada and an associate professor at McMaster University in the Division of Radiation Oncology. Dr. Sagar contributes to the educational programs of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, Washington DC. He is on the international editorial boards of the evidence-based journals, ‘Focus on Alternative and Complementary Medicine’ and ‘Integrative Cancer Therapies’. He is a well-sought out international speaker on a variety of CAM topics including integrative oncology. His publications include: over 51 peer-reviewed papers, 1, book, 3 chapters, 15 letters (including Lancet), 22 abstracts, etc. His CAM review expertise include areas in cancer, herbal medicine, massage, and acupuncture.

Clare Stevinson, PhD

Dr. Stevinson is a Lectuer in Behavioural Aspects of Physical Activity and Health at Loughborough University, United Kingdom. Her current research involves physical activity and health outcomes with a strong focus on cancer. Her work has been published in over 40 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters, and presented at more than 30 international, national or regional meetings. She has co-authored a reference book on complementary and alternative medicine, and contributed to the UK government’s 2004 report on physical activity and health. Dr Stevinson acts as a reviewer for several international journals and grant awarding agencies, and is a member of the advisory board of FACT (Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies).

Non-Profit Operations Advisor

Rebecca Reynolds

Ms. Reynolds is the President of Rebecca Reynolds Consulting (RRC), which she founded in 1994 after a successful career in executive management of non-profit organizations. RRC specializes in leadership development, organizatinoal transformation, and Collaborative Process Management (the design and management of complex public planning and decision-making processes).

RRC clients are primarily in the public and non-profit sectors, and Ms. Reynolds has broad expertise in the issues and challenges of public service. Ms. Reynolds works with a wide variety of leadership teams to enhance their collective capability. Among RRC clients are the US Forest Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Park Service, and the Pacific Science Center, the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, and the Kansas City Opera.

Ms. Reynolds has authored the Non-Profit Know How Series, a compendium of practical guidance on non-profit management topics including fund-raising, board development, and strategic planning.