Committees

Aviad "Adi" Haramati, PhD, is Professor of Integrative Physiology in the Departments of Biochemistry, Molecular & Cellular Biology and Medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Since 2013, he also serves as the Founding Director of the Center for Innovation and Leadership in Education (CENTILE). Dr. Haramati has taught physiology for over 35 years and received institutional and national awards for his research on kidney function and his teaching. More recently, Dr. Haramati has focused his efforts on rethinking how health professionals are trained, and he is interested in improving medical education across the globe, especially with regard to the intersection of science, mind-body medicine and professionalism. Dr. Haramati has been a visiting professor at over 60 medical schools.

Dr. Peggy A. Weissinger has worked in higher education since 1990. She currently serves as the Associate Director of the Center for Innovation and Leadership in Education (CENTILE) at Georgetown University Medical Center and is the newly appointed inaugural director of the GUMC Teaching Academy for the Health Sciences. She additionally serves as an Associate Dean for Educational Scholarship at Georgetown University School of Medicine; Co-Director of the Office of Educational Scholarship, Co-Director of the Medical Education Research Scholar Track, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine. She facilitates workshops for the Teachers of Critical Languages Program, a collaboration of the American Councils for International Education and the Department of State and is an associate with Dee Fink and Associates who offer workshops on Designing Courses for Significant Learning. Previous positions include Associate Dean for Assessment at Georgetown University School of Medicine; adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at The George Washington University; and director of the Extended Learning Institute Distance Learning Center at Northern Virginia Community College. Dr. Weissinger earned her doctorate in Higher Education Administration with a minor in Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University; an MBA from Georgetown University; a masters degree in Education from DePauw University; and a bachelor of arts degree from Purdue University.

Dr. Bauer is board-certified in Internal Medicine, a Professor of Medicine and has been on staff at Mayo Clinic for 23 years. His main research interest has been the scientific evaluation of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies that patients and consumers are using with increasing frequency. He has authored several book chapters and over 100 papers on this topic, and is the Medical Editor of the Mayo Clinic Book of Alternative Medicine. He is a member of numerous scientific review panels and is currently collaborating on over 20 studies being conducted at Mayo Clinic evaluating CAM therapies ranging from acupuncture to valerian. He is the Medical Director of Rejuvenate, the first spa at Mayo Clinic. He is also the Medical Director of the Well Living Lab, a collaboration between Delos and Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation. His work is at the forefront of the emerging field of Integrative Medicine which combines the best of conventional medicine with the best of evidence-based complementary therapies.

Judith Broida joined Maryland University of Integrative Health (formerly Tai Sophia Institute) as Vice President for Academic Affairs in 2008. In October 2009, she was appointed the additional post of Provost, and in 2010 was promoted to Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. Previously she served as Associate Provost and Dean of Professional Studies at the University of Maryland; as Associate Dean of Public Policy, Planning, and Urban Development at the University of Southern California; and as Associate Dean and Director of the Division of Business and Management at Johns Hopkins University.

In each institution, her goal was to create stimulating and energizing learning opportunities for the non-traditional student and to enhance the quality of the academic experience for faculty, students, and the community. Several of these unique programs, such as the Business of Medicine, have won national awards. Dr. Broida taught graduate courses for more than 15 years at these institutions.

In addition, she worked at a Fortune 100 company and two federal government agencies as head of human resource development. For 25 years, she has been consulting in leadership, strategic planning, board development, organizational change, human resource development, and customer service.

Her undergraduate degree from George Washington University is in sociology/art history. She has two master’s degrees—from George Washington University in counseling, and from Johns Hopkins University in management—and a doctorate from the University of Maryland. She was selected to participate in the Leadership Maryland program in 2001, is a graduate of Harvard’s Management and Leadership in Education program, was chosen as a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Examiner (State of Maryland), and has twice (2000 and 2002) been named one of the Top 100 Women in Maryland.

Susan Carter is the Administrative Director at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Vanderbilt where she has provided strategic leadership and overseen administrative and financial operations since May 2009. OCIM uses a multi-modal, interdisciplinary team approach to engage the whole person in accessing their natural capacity for health and healing. They strive to provide transformative care guided by the individual's journey and informed by continuous quality improvement. In 2011, Susan helped to launch and served as co-chair of the Business sub-committee of the clinical working group of the Consortium of Academic Health Centers in Integrative Medicine (CAHCIM) and as a Finance Committee member until December 2014 when she became the Treasurer. Susan is passionate about healing, mindfulness, and a meaning-based approach to work and leadership. She received her bachelors in Psychology from Wake Forest University and her Masters of Management in Health Care from Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management.

Sian Cotton, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Family and Community Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati's College of Medicine. She is the Founder and Director of UC's Center for Integrative Health and Wellness and UC Health Integrative Medicine. Dr. Cotton has received NIH and foundation funding to support her research which focuses primarily on mind-body interventions and integrative medicine practice-based research. Her research interests include complementary/integrative health and medicine, coping with chronic illness, pediatric and adolescent health, student and provider wellness, and religion/spirituality. As a clinical health psychologist, Dr. Cotton has worked with children, adolescents and adults with a variety of medical and psychiatric conditions, with a particular interest on the impact of medical conditions on psychological and social functioning and utilizing an integrative approach to care.

Mary Jo Kreitzer, PhD, RN, FAAN, the founder and director of the Center for Spirituality & Healing at the University of Minnesota, has more than 40 years of leadership and expertise in healthcare. In addition to her roles as nurse, teacher, healthcare administrator and researcher, she is also an internationally recognized pioneer and innovator in the field of integrative health and wellbeing. Dr. Kreitzer earned her doctoral degree in public health focused on health services research, policy and administration, and her master's and bachelor's degrees in nursing. In addition to her Center role, she is a tenured professor in the School of Nursing, and co-director of the doctorate in nursing practice (DNP) specialty in integrative health and healing, a joint program between the School and the Center. From 2004-2007, Dr. Kreitzer served as the vice-chair of the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine. In 2009, Dr. Kreitzer testified at a US Senate hearing titled "Integrative Health: Pathway to Health Reform" as well as the Institute of Medicine Summit titled "Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public". In 2013, she received the Bravewell Distinguished Service Award from the Consortium. As a recognized leader in integrative health and wellbeing, Dr. Kreitzer regularly presents to practitioner and public audiences as well as at academic and healthcare conferences. She has authored over 100 publications and is the co-editor of Integrative Nursing published in 2014 by Oxford Press. Dr. Kreitzer also serves as co-editor-in-chief of Global Advances in Health and Medicine, an international journal focused on improving health and wellbeing worldwide.

Dr. Mona M. Abaza is an Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Colorado Denver, School of Medicine. A board certified Otolaryngologist and Laryngology fellowship trained. She received her medical degree from The Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania (now Drexel University) She completed her Otolaryngology residency at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center. Thereafter, she completed her Laryngology fellowship training at Graduate Hospital and Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, PA. She maintains active interest in professional voice research as a peer-elected member of the International Association of Phonosurgeons, the American Bronch-esophagology Association, the Triological Society and the American Laryngologic Association. She has also been active in medical education, completing a Master of Science in Higher Education program at Drexel University in 2010. She is a member of the University of Colorado School of Medicine's Academy of Medical Educators and runs the Teaching Certificate Program. She has been the Residency Program Director for Otolaryngology since 2006. She is a governing council member of the Otolaryngology Program Director Organization and an Administrative Board member for the Council of Faculty and Academic Societies (CFAS) of the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC), where she chairs the Faculty Resilience Task Force. She is active in Women's Leadership in her specialty, as a founding member of the governing council of the section of her national academy, she is also the immediate past-chair of the section and co-founder of a yearlong leadership program.

Sian Cotton, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Family and Community Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati's College of Medicine. She is the Founder and Director of UC's Center for Integrative Health and Wellness and UC Health Integrative Medicine. Dr. Cotton has received NIH and foundation funding to support her research which focuses primarily on mind-body interventions and integrative medicine practice-based research. Her research interests include complementary/integrative health and medicine, coping with chronic illness, pediatric and adolescent health, student and provider wellness, and religion/spirituality. As a clinical health psychologist, Dr. Cotton has worked with children, adolescents and adults with a variety of medical and psychiatric conditions, with a particular interest on the impact of medical conditions on psychological and social functioning and utilizing an integrative approach to care.

Eve Ekman is currently a Post Doctoral Scholar at UCSF's Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. Ekman's research interests were inspired by her experience as a medical social worker in the emergency department of San Francisco General Hospital coupled with her training in the applied emotion regulation and mindfulness intervention: Cultivating Emotional Balance, CEB. At the Osher Center for Integrative medicine Eve continues to refine the conceptual frame work, research and training in the areas of meaning, empathy and burnout. Eve's research interests include technology assisted devices to promote emotion regulation and mindful awareness, developing dynamic measurement for empathy and assessing the downstream impact of provider empathy on quality of patient care.

Dr. Steve Epstein is professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry of the Georgetown University School of Medicine and chief of service of the Department of Psychiatry of MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale College and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. After completing a residency in psychiatry at Tufts-New England Medical Center, he was a fellow in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at Georgetown/Fairfax Hospital. From 1990 to 2000 he directed Georgetown’s Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry service and he became department chair in 2001. He currently directs Georgetown’s Psychosomatic Medicine fellowship, Physician-Patient Communication Program, and Physician Health Committee.

Dr. Epstein has conducted NIH-funded research and published extensively in the area of psychosomatic medicine. In 2001, he was awarded an RO1 grant from NIMH to study primary care physicians’ decision-making in the evaluation and treatment of depression. He has also been principal investigator on two other NIMH grants in this area. He has been the recipient of four teaching awards from Georgetown psychiatry residents. In 2011 he was elected by his peers to the MAGIS Society of Masters Teachers of the Georgetown University School of Medicine. He is also co-chair of the Committee on Medical Education for the medical school.

Dr. Epstein serves as vice president of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, the 950 member national organization for Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. He is also a member of the Psychosomatic Medicine Committee of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is the current president of the Washington Psychiatric Society, as well as a member of the Physician Health Committee of the DC Medical Society. Most recently, he was appointed to a six-year term (beginning in July 2015) as a member of the Psychiatry Review Committee for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.​

Nancy Harazduk, MEd, MSW, an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University, School of Medicine in Washington, DC is the Director of the Mind-Body Medicine Program and the Ombudsperson to the medical students. To integrate Mind-Body Medicine into the medical school curriculum, she directs and teaches Mind-Body Medicine courses for first, second and third year medical students, Physiology Masters students, and for the faculty of Georgetown University School of Medicine. In this course, participants are taught to integrate mindfulness meditation, imagery, autogenic training, biofeedback, journal writing and movement into their personal and professional lives. As a presenter, facilitator and supervisor, Ms. Harazduk has trained over eight hundred healthcare professionals in Mind-Body Medicine. She has developed and led Mind-Body Medicine groups for people with cancer, depression, chronic illness, and severe stress. In addition, she has done extensive work with chronically and terminally ill people and the National Institutes of Health and at Hospice. She has traveled to the Middle East to teach Mind-Body Medicine skills to participants of the Middle East Cancer Consortium. In addition, she leads Mind-Body Medicine retreats for anesthesia residents and the faculty of Stanford University School of Medicine. Ms. Harazduk has completed post-graduate training in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction with Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD; The Healer's Art Professional Training course with Rachel Naomi Remen, MD; and the Clinical Training Program in Mind-Body Medicine with Herbert Benson, MD. In addition, she is certified in Interactive Guided Imagery by the Academy of Guided Imagery in Mill Valley, California. Ms. Harazduk maintains a private psychotherapy practice specializing in Mind-Body Medicine therapies in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Maryanna Klatt, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor, in the College of Medicine at Ohio State University, Department of Family Medicine. Dr. Klatt's research focus has been to develop and evaluate feasible, cost-effective ways to reduce the risk of stress-related chronic illness, for both adults and children. Trained in Mindfulness and a certified yoga instructor through Yoga Alliance, she combines these two approaches in a unique approach to stress prevention/reduction. Her adult program, Mindfulness in Motion, is delivered at the worksite, and for cancer survivors, while the program for children, Move Into Learning is a classroom based intervention. Both programs combine yoga, mindfulness, and relaxing music. Specifically her research has shown that nurses working in a surgical intensive care unit reduced their stress by 40% (shown in their salivary amylase), university faculty and staff slept better, and bank employees significantly reduced their perceived stress, Cancer survivors and their caregivers became significantly more resilient, while inner- city 3rd graders significantly improved in hyperactivity and cognitive inattention- behaviors often related to stress. She has published several articles and book chapters, and has presented her work at national and international scientific conferences. Her stress reduction program is a fully covered benefit for faculty and staff at the University of Minnesota.

Mick Krasner, MD, FACP, Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, practices primary care internal medicine in Rochester, New York. Dr. Krasner has been teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction to patients, medical students, and health professionals for more than 14 years, involving nearly 1800 participants, including over 600 health professionals. He is engaged in a variety of research projects including the investigations of the effects of mindfulness practices on the immune system in the elderly, on chronic psoriasis, and on medical student stress and well-being. He was the project director of Mindful Communication: Bringing Intention, Attention, and Reflection to Clinical Practice, sponsored by the New York Chapter of the American College of Physicians and funded by the Physicians Foundation for Health Systems Excellence and reported in JAMA in September, 2009. He is very interested in the connection between health professional well-being and the effectiveness of the healing relationship.

Dr. Krasner graduated from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine in 1987 and completed his residency in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry where he is currently a full-time faculty member engaged in direct patient care, medical student and residency education, post-graduate medical education, and research in the University’s Center for Mind-Body Research. He has shared his work in peer-reviewed publications, scientific assemblies, workshops, visiting professorships, workshops and retreats throughout the world, focusing primarily on the roots of Hippocratic medicine through the cultivation of attention, awareness, and reflection of the health professional-healing relationship. He describes his personal mission as centered on compassion in medicine- for the self and others, and envisions a personalized health professional-patient relationship where healing is truly bidirectional, care goals are mutually derived, and the uniqueness of the clinical encounter reflects this central act of mutual high regard. 

Dr. Pamela A. Saunders is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry.  With a doctorate in sociolinguistics from Georgetown University, her research focuses on language, aging, doctor/patient communication, narrative and reflective writing. She has spent the last 20 years conducting research and teaching. Her research program includes funding from the Alzheimer’s Association, National Institute on Aging, Hartford Foundation, and the FDA. She serves in several leadership roles related to the medical education including the Chief Course Director of the Doctoring Curriculum and co-clerkship director of the Geriatrics clerkship. She is a long-standing member of the Committee on Medical Education and also serves on the Committee on Appointments and Promotions. She co-founded, the geriatrics curriculum in 2000 for the undergraduate medical students at GUSOM with funding from the Hartford Foundation. In addition, she teaches reflective writing and Mind Body Medicine skills to medical and graduate students.  Her publications cover topics such as reflective writing, self-awareness, mind body medicine, doctor/patient communication, a well as language and dementia.

James Snow, MA, is the Assistant Provost for Academic Research at Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH). He has worked as a clinician and educator in the field of Western herbal medicine and has 25 years of experience merging modern scientific perspectives with traditional explanatory models of healing. At MUIH, Mr. Snow’s work focuses on enhancing research literacy and capacity among complementary and integrative health faculty. Current research projects include investigation of attitudes and use of evidence-informed practice among Western herbal practitioners; the role of context effects in the effectiveness of Western herbal medicine; and the construct of ‘healing presence’ in healthcare.

Dr. Sood is a professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. He is also the director of research in the Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program, chair of the Mind-Body Medicine Initiative at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and fellow of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Sood has developed an innovative approach to mind-body medicine by incorporating concepts within neurosciences, psychology, philosophy and spirituality. His clinical work and research encompasses a wide range of topics from decreasing stress and anxiety, to wellness solutions for corporate executives, parents and students. Dr. Sood received the 2010 Distinguished Service Award, the 2010 Innovator of the Year Award and the 2013 Outstanding Physician Scientist Award from Mayo Clinic. The Ode Magazine nominated Dr. Sood as one among top 20 intelligent optimists helping the world to be a better place. He is the author of the book, The Mayo Clinic Guide to Stress-Free Living and The Mayo Clinic Handbook for Happiness.

Yvonne Steinert, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and Professor of Family Medicine, is the Director of the Centre for Medical Education, the Richard and Sylvia Cruess Chair in Medical Education, and the former Associate Dean for Faculty Development (1993 - 2011) in the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University. Dr. Steinert’s educational and research interests focus on teaching and learning in the health professions, the impact of faculty development on the individual and the organization, and professionalism and professional identity formation in medicine. She has written extensively on the topic of medical education and faculty development, recently edited a book on Faculty Development in the Health Professions: A Focus on Research and Practice, and frequently addresses medical educators at both national and international meetings.

Hedy S. Wald, PhD is Clinical Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University where she oversees the reflective writing curriculum in the Family Medicine Clerkship and provides academic consultation. She served as a Fulbright Scholar in medical education for the Ben Gurion University of Health Sciences Faculty of Medicine in Israel and is a Gold Humanism Foundation Harvard-Macy Scholar. She conducts interprofessional faculty development workshops internationally on using interactive reflective writing to foster reflective capacity and support professional identity formation in health care professions education and has published widely on this. Her creative writing, reviews, and poetry have appeared in literary and medical journals and excerpted in the NY Times. She is a Guest Editor at Academic Medicine for a special issue on Professional Identity Formation in health care professions education. Fostering resiliency and preventing burnout in health care practitioners and health care professions students with synergistic mind-body medicine and reflective writing-enhanced reflection is a current research interest.

Dr. Wilcox is the Director of Education at the Center for Spirituality and Healing, University of Minnesota. In that capacity, Wilcox oversees academic offerings for the Center, as well as leading the Center's academic and organizational offerings in the areas of Whole Person and Whole System leadership, and supporting research, consulting, and program offerings related to the Center's Wellbeing Model. Wilcox serves as an instructor and subject matter expert in the areas of leadership presence, authentic leadership, leadership resilience, spirit in the workplace, workplace wellbeing, and emotional and social intelligence. Previously, Wilcox served as a Global Lead for a Fortune 100 Leadership Academy, responsible for program conceptualization, quality, design, and deployment in 52 different countries. Dr. Wilcox continues to provide consulting and executive coaching to corporations, specifically in the arenas of emotional intelligence and high performance leadership.