Conference Program
The 2019 conference program continues to develop. Check back for updates.
This clinically relevant, evidence-based medical conference program is designed to educate, inspire and engage integrative practitioners and those interested in learning more about alternative and complementary approaches to healthcare.
Conference Hours:
February 21-23, 2019
Thursday: 8:00am – 5:00pm
Friday: 8:30am – 5:00pm
Saturday: 8:30am – 5:00pm
Day 1
Feb 21 2019
Day 2
Feb 22 2019
Day 3
Feb 23 2019
8:30 am - 8:45 am
Sutton Central
Yoga: A Fad, Evidence-Based, or New-Age Distraction?
Yoga practice has steadily grown in the U.S. by over 50% in adults and more than doubled in children from 2012 to 2017. It is primarily practiced for general wellness/disease...
Rodney and Colleen Yee
10:00 am - 10:15 am
Why We are Confused: The Failures of Nutrition Science
Science in its purest form should be able to answer hypotheses and prove or disprove them. Research should be well designed, free of bias or conflicts of interest. Today’s competing...
Mark Hyman MD
Change Your Genes – Change Your Life
Biology is no longer destiny. Our DNA doesn’t determine our health and disease prospects, as geneticists once believed. According to the new science of epigenetics, the vast majority of our...
Kenneth R Pelletier PhD, MD
Test, Don’t Guess! Integrative and Functional Nutrition Laboratory Assessment
Test, don't guess! Skip the polarizing diet and nutrition debates, bridge theory and practice, and take your nutrition assessment game to the next level with organ systems specific integrative and...
Mary Beth Augustine RDN, CDN, FAND
Kathie Swift MS, RDN, LDN, FAND
Integrative and Comprehensive Approach to Inflammatory Bowel Disease
The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) — comprising Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis — is soaring in Western countries. How do modern lifestyles and medical practices contribute to its...
Ronald Hoffman MD, CNS, FACAM
IFM Presents: What Is Keeping You Stuck In Adrenal Fatigue
Adrenal issues are more and more accepted in the functional medical community, however we are not always great about keeping the adrenals working well. Long time stress, and also early...
Marcelle Pick NP, OB/GYN
12:15 pm - 1:45 pm
Leaky Heart Syndrome
Have you heard of Leaky Heart Syndrome? Undoubtedly you have heard of leaky gut, but Dr. Jack Wolfson D.O., FACC will teach you about the leaky heart. In this session,...
Jack Wolfson D.O., FACC
Measuring Biology vs. Symptomatology – The Fully Integrated Functional Wellness Program
In this presentation, Dr. Dane Donohue will go through how he uses a wellness score including relevant biometric and laboratory data to asses a patient needs for an integrated wellness...
Dane Donohue DC
Cannabis in Cancer Care
Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - the main psychoactive component of cannabis- was licensed and approved for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in 1985. Due to the significant barriers to studying...
Donald Abrams MD
The Technology-Engagement Triad: The Practitioner, Wearable Technology/Apps, & The Patient
Integrative Medicine is based on a personalized approach that empowers patients and practitioners to collaborate on a path of optimal health. Harnessing the power of Lifestyle Medicine in concert with...
Steven Feyrer-Melk PhD, M.Ed
3:00 pm - 3:30 pm
How to Better Assess Your Patient’s Nutrition Needs
MyPlate, BMI, lab & genetic tests, oh my! While helpful, these tools don’t provide the integrative practitioner with the information needed to build a patient’s better nutrition plan. Today, we...
Ashley Koff RD
Dental Danger: Signs of Sleep Breathing Disorders in Children and Adults – Learn the Visual Clues!
The diagnosis of Sleep Breathing Disorder (SBD) is often missed in both children and adults. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most severe level of SBD. Many childhood problems have been...
Mark Breiner DDS, FAGD, FIAOMT
HRT: To Give or Not to Give, The Functional Medicine Answer
There is continuous confusion and contradiction in both lay and professional opinion about the use of HRT in menopause. Thankfully, IFM has created a data driven approach to this common...
Joel Evans MD
Environmental Toxins: Part 1 – The Top 4 Pollutants In Your Body And What They Are Doing To You
The CDC’s Fourth Report on Human Exposure lists 126 toxicants that are found ubiquitously in the North American population, about 50% of all they test for. All of these pollutants...
Lyn Patrick ND
Keynote: Fasting Mimicking Diets, Regeneration, and Age-Related Diseases
Decades of genetic and nutrition studies by my laboratory and others have resulted in the identification and understanding of strategies to activate high protection, repair and regeneration systems able to...
Valter Longo PhD
9:45 am - 10:45 am
Chronic Disease is an Environmental Issue
Cancer, diabetes, auto-immune, Lyme and other chronic conditions have impaired epigenetic sources. This session will explore through literature review and clinical practice the underlying root causes of chronic diseases. The...
Isadora Guggenheim ND
Guided Imagery: Efficacious, Portable, Scalable, User-Friendly, Self-Administered
In this session, Naparstek will present an overview of the benefits of guided imagery, offering key research findings to demonstrate the stunning range of its power and efficacy. She also...
Belleruth Naparstek ACSW
Revolutionizing Modern Health with Ancient Medicine
One major point people make when rejecting the benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) or Ayurveda is that there are few “gold-standard” studies that sufficiently prove their benefits. But for...
Josh Axe DNM, DC, CNS
Real World: Integrative, Functional and Naturopathic Clinical Pilots in the Era of Value-Based Care
Clinical leaders in integrative, functional, and naturopathic medicine report conceptual aligned with the medical industry's move from "volume to value." Enhancing patient experience, saving costs, raising practitioner satisfaction and bettering...
John Weeks
David Fogel MD
Mark Hyman MD
Lorilee Schoenbeck ND
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Integrative Approaches to Traumatic Brain Injuries
In recent years, traumatic brain injuries, such as concussions, have become a topic of interest to both the public and healthcare industry. While most of the focus has been on...
Adam Breiner ND
Laughter: Enlivening Global Relationships and Wellness Through this Universal Language of Healing
In our stress-filled work and personal lives, health professionals are called to promote self-care. As we fill our mind, body, and spirits, we can be present as the instrument of...
Karen Fink BSN, RN, HNB-BC, LMT, CLL
The Autoimmune Epidemic – Exploring the Controversies and Pathways Forward
Autoimmune disease is growing at epidemic proportions in the Western industrialized counties, with a very strong predominance of women being affected. A phenomenon not observed in the under-developed world. It...
David Brady ND, DC, CCN, DACBN, IFMCP
Nancy O’Hara MD, MPH, FAAP
David Perlmutter MD, FACN, ABIHM
Yehuda Shoenfeld MD, FRCP, MaACR
Aristo Vojdani PhD, MSc, CLS
Gut Dysbiosis, Immune Activation and Histamine Intolerance – Untangling the Web
GI tract dysbiosis, immune activation and histamine intolerance exist in an interconnected web resulting in patients with multi-system symptomatic presentation. While reaching for a presumed diagnosis of MCAS may be...
Michael Ruscio DC
2:45 pm - 3:15 pm
3:15 pm - 3:30 pm
East Ballroom
Lifestyle Choices Chart Your Brain’s Destiny
It has been said that the two most important defining features of humans are the opposable thumb and our unparalleled cognitive abilities. But, as it relates to the latter, our...
David Perlmutter MD, FACN, ABIHM
8:30 am - 9:45 am
Gibson Suite
Doing It, Better! Integrative Medicine for Sexual Dysfunction
New, more holistic solutions to sexual problems are very needed. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent annually on supplements to alleviate sexual symptoms, yet most are not adequately studied....
Barbara Bartlik MD
Geo Espinosa ND, L.Ac, IFMCP, CNS
Ronald Hoffman MD, CNS, FACAM
Janet Mindes PhD
Cannabis, The Endocannabinoid System, and Integrative Modalities: What Integrative Practitioners Need to Know
This presentation will provide a brief overview of the endocannabinoid system, and how cannabis works in the body to support homeostasis. Cannabis Side effects, ethical considerations, and legal concerns will...
Carey Clark PhD, RN, AHN-BC, RYT
Environmental Toxins: Part 2 – Survival Strategies To Deal With 4 Of The Most Damaging Pollutants
The majority of the 126 pollutants found in everyone are non-persistent compounds with relatively short half-lives. Air pollutants, bisphenols and phthalates are in this category. For these three compounds avoidance...
Lyn Patrick ND
Pathways to Longevity: Intracellular Biochemical Pathways Associated with Aging
The clinicians’ task is not to simply extend life, but to decrease or prevent disability or prolonged morbidity. That task has been made easier by recent advances in genomics research...
Robert Rountree MD
Workshop: Compassion Fatigue + Vital Exhaustion: A Matter of the Heart
This half-day workshop is designed to bring awareness and solutions to the epidemic of BurnOut, Compassion Fatigue, Vital Exhaustion and one of its most devastating consequences, cardiovascular disease. Compassion Fatigue...
Nancy Gahles DC, CCH, RSHom(NA),OIM
Lorraine Gahles-Kildow PhD
9:45 am - 10:45 am
Exploiting Genetic Variation in Hormone Balancing for Women
Many of our patients already have had genetic testing done in order to understand their own SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms or “snips”). We can use this information to more easily...
Wendy Warner MD, FACOG, ABIHM, IFMCP
10:45 am - 12:00 pm
East Ballroom
Microbiota and the Gut-Brain Axis in Health and Disease
The gut and the brain are two separate, but connected, organs. When the gut is dysfunctional due to microbiota imbalance, it has been shown to manifest as a neurological disorder....
Robert Silverman DC, DACBN, DCBCN, MS, CCN, CNS, CSCS, CIISN, CKTP, CES, HKC, FA
Patient-Specific Immune Repair Program: Immunopathogenesis in Ill & Good Health
Chronic health issues precipitate from a myriad of origins. Noticeably, a common set of causes appear to be - cumulative repair deficits, oxidative damage, metabolic acidosis and above all -...
Russell Jaffe MD, PhD, CCN
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
The Mosaic of Autoimmunity
Autoimmune diseases are conditions in which the immune system damages normal components of the individual. Thus autoantibodies productions were found to be multifactorial in their etiology. For practical reasons these...
Yehuda Shoenfeld MD, FRCP, MaACR
Testosterone In Men: Why Levels Are Low And Treating With Natural Therapeutics
Low levels of testosterone combined with higher than normal estradiol levels is a leading contributor to cognitive dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, and prostate cancer in men. Despite the availability and growth...
Geo Espinosa ND, L.Ac, IFMCP, CNS
Suicide: A Public Health Crisis – Obligations and Opportunities for Integrative Medicine
This session will explore the tragic neglect and paucity of research on the high rates of suicide in adolescents. Suicide risk among today’s youth is overwhelming and poorly addressed, amounting...
James Greenblatt MD
“Brainflammation” – How Gluten and Grains Trigger Blood Brain Barrier Disruption
How Grains Contribute to Leaky Brain and Chronic Neurological Inflammation. Grains are one of the most highly recommended staple foods in the world. Over the past 20 years, the gluten...
Peter Osborne DC, DACBN, PScD
Integrative Energy Medicine for Pain Management
Global inequities of pain relief continues in the form of not having access to proper pain medications to excessive over-use creating dependence and addictions. Uncontrolled pain leads to increased numbers...
Gail Van Kanegan DNP, FNP, APHN, EEM-AP, Reiki Master
2:45 pm - 3:30 pm
Energy Break
Conference fatigue and energy depletion are common challenges to learning for conference attendees, especially at mid-morning and after lunch. After sitting and concentrating for hours, muscles tighten, attention declines, patience...
Nicole Vienneau MSN, RN, NC-BC
Functional Medicine in the Age of Genomics, Biometrics and Wearable Devices
This presentation will focus on the revolution that is occurring in genomics and biometrics and how this supports the delivery of Functional Medicine. Specific examples of how new technologies are...
Jeffrey Bland PhD, FACN, FACB, CNS