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Past Shows

  • Louis Stephens posted an article
    Endocrine Typing - 2024 PLMI Conference Preview see more

    •    Deanna Minich, PhD
    •    Jade Teta, ND

    Evolution of Medicine is thrilled to present its next Functional Forum, which will explore endocrine and metabolic health. We will share conversations with two speakers from the upcoming Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute (PLMI) conference, Endocrine Typing: Connecting the Dots Between Toxin Load, Weight Loss Resistance and Hormonal Dysfunction.

    Weight loss is a hot topic in American health care right now due to the obesity epidemic. For the first time in history, we also have pharmaceuticals, namely GLP-1 agonists, that are proving to be effective weight loss tools.

    From a lifestyle, functional or integrative medicine perspective, clinicians must help patients who take these medications prevent or mitigate side effects and succeed with long-term weight management when no longer taking GLP-1 agonists.

    For the best long-term patient outcomes, it is important to understand the biochemical or biophysical mechanisms that drive obesity. In this Functional Forum, we will focus on hormonal and environmental factors, such as toxins, that influence weight loss resistance and weight gain.

    Joining us are two thought leaders who will speak at the PLMI conference. Deanna Minich, PhD is a preeminent expert on nutrition, a much-loved international speaker and an author of six consumer wellness books and numerous scientific publications. She offers deep wisdom on toxins, obesogens and nutritional biochemistry.

    Jade Teta, ND is a leading educator who is well known for speaking about metabolic health. He has joined the Functional Forum before to share relevant and important insights with us. Dr. Teta is also an expert in human motivation and performance, which will be covered in detail during the March Functional Forum.

    Please join us as we explore the connection between toxins, metabolic disorders and the endocrine system. We will come to a deeper understanding of how cellular dysfunction leads to obesity and work toward a more structured approach to long-term management of a healthy weight.

     March 04, 2024
  • Louis Stephens posted an article
    10th Anniversary of the Functional Forum see more

    •    Michael Mabry, DO
    •    Rob Slattery, the CEO of SoFHA
    •    Patrick Hanaway, MD

    The Evolution of Medicine is thrilled to announce the upcoming Functional Forum marking its 10th anniversary.

    Our first Functional Forum took place in February 2014 at the Helen Mills Theater in Midtown Manhattan. The functional and integrative health movement had yet to grow to what it is today. Since then, much has changed: We have hosted the Functional Forum from several continents and facilitated hundreds of meetups. We are beyond grateful for the community's engagement, advocacy and support.

    The first ten years of the Functional Forum were focused on bringing together like-minded practitioners and making it easy for those practitioners to start their own practices to deliver integrative and functional medicine to their local communities.

    Our next ten years will be all about working toward systemic change. To kick off this next chapter, we are sharing content captured in Johnson City, Tennessee at an inaugural dinner for the East Tennessee Health Forum, a chapter of the Functional Forum, hosted by Michael Mabry, DO.

    Dr. Mabry was featured on an earlier podcast episode in 2023, where we learned how group medical visits combined with a capitation payment model enable his practice to provide integrative medicine services to a community that may otherwise be underserved.

    Integrative and functional medicine have historically been held back by financial limitations, such as not qualifying for insurance. Dr. Mabry’s practice has figured out a solution that is working for a town of 70,000.

    If you join us for this Functional Forum, you'll see interviews with Dr. Mabry and Rob Slattery, the CEO of SoFHA, the physician-owned and led health care group serving 150,000+ patients to which Dr. Mabry belongs.

    We will also hear from Patrick Hanaway, MD, who was central to the success of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine. Dr. Hanaway will share insights gained from implementing functional medicine in a large academic center. In particular, he will speak to the cost savings of reversing chronic illness.

    We will showcase the data on how functional medicine practices that leverage group care can deliver significant value to the health system by addressing chronic disease reversal through patient education and support. You will see how collaboration and cooperation is allowing integrative medicine to flourish in rural Appalachia.

    This episode will bring together the most important themes we’ve explored in the Functional Forum over the last ten years.

     February 05, 2024
  • Louis Stephens posted an article
    Kicking Off the Year of Unity see more

    Evolution of Medicine is thrilled to announce the first Functional Forum of 2024 on the theme of unity. In this coming year, we will explore a broad range of how unity is expressed in medicine, including:

    • Treating patients, rather than isolated symptoms
    • Finding commonalities between vitalistic health care practices
    • Interdisciplinary collaboration between clinicians, patients and various medical disciplines
    • In-person communities and group care
    • Technology integration, including aggregating and organizing data
    • Collaboration and interconnectedness through education and training

    Our guest speaker will be Dr. Andrew Weil, who is a long-time advocate for integrative medicine. In his first-ever appearance on the Functional Forum, we’ll learn about his range of experiences that will directly apply to our mission at the Evolution of Medicine.

    He is the founder and leader of a fellowship program for integrative medicine through the University of Arizona. You'll hear his vision and predictions for the future of medicine and his opinions about psychedelic medicine.

    Our host, James Maskell, will also share his reflections on where we will find opportunities for unity consciousness in medicine.

     January 09, 2024
  • Louis Stephens posted an article
    Mitochondria: The Great Orchestrator see more

    •    Andrew Heyman, MD
    •    Jarrod Spencer, PsyD
    •    Elroy Vojdani, MD

    The Evolution of Medicine is excited to announce the December Functional Forum, which was filmed in Park City, Utah at the October 2023 A4M conference, Mitochondria: The Conductor, The Powerhouse, The Key to Cellular Healing.

    Four years ago, we attended the same conference where it was made clear the degree to which mitochondria impact the cell danger response and chronic inflammatory conditions.

    Now that the science has evolved, we are doing a deeper dive into understanding how mitochondria orchestrate immune activity and a host of other functions.

    Starting us off is Dr. Andrew Heyman, who is the medical director of Integrative Medicine at The George Washington University and the director of Academic Affairs at A4M. At 17 years old, Dr. Heyman started his career in medicine with formal training in five-element shiatsu and traditional Chinese medicine. He has since trained in a long list of therapies.

    During his opening keynote at the conference, Dr. Heyman spoke of vitalism, which involves the connections between several areas of medicine, such as Chinese, Ayurvedic, naturopathic and chiropractic, where mitochondrial function can be measured.

    We will also feature Dr. Jarod Spencer, Dr. Elroy Vojdani and several other conference attendees who shared how they address the many manifestations of mitochondrial dysfunction.

    We are extremely excited to bring you this talk, which will be a clinical expression of our mission at the Evolution of Medicine to bring together like-minded clinicians.

    For the first time in history, we are seeing a convergence of cutting-edge medical science and vitalism, all pointing to a unified medical paradigm.

     December 04, 2023
  • Louis Stephens posted an article
    Co-Creating Immunity see more

    •    Erik Lundquist, MD
    •    Kelly McCann, MD

    The Evolution of Medicine is thrilled to announce our November Functional Forum, Co-Creating Immunity. Please join our second-to-last Forum of 2023, the year of connection.

    We are intimately connected to our environment, and environmental toxins contribute to chronic illnesses. In particular, the link between environmental illness and immunity is an area where functional medicine is really coming into its own.

    We are excited to showcase local practitioners who are at the cutting edge of this topic. We will also hear from presenting community members who are innovating their clinical practices, business models and technology.

    • Our first guest speaker, Kelly McCann, MD, has been a leader in environmental medicine for over a decade. Dr. McCann was one of the first hosts of the Orange County Functional Forum in 2015-2016. Expect deep clinical insights from Dr. McCann as she shares her tips for building immune health.
    • Our second guest speaker will be Erik Lundquist, MD, who has an innovative business model and clinical approach. He will present on stress and the immune system and share methods for improving immune function in your patients.

    As always, this Functional Forum will be hosted by James Maskell. We will showcase how practitioners are helping patients build immunity through innovative in-person and virtual group care models. We will also highlight lessons from the field on how capitation and value-based care are creating the right incentives for functional medicine to flourish in many ways.

     

    Bonus: Watch Dr. Lundquist’s clinical case presentation on post-COVID patient treatments.

    COVID Long-Hauler Clinical Case Presentation

     November 06, 2023
  • Louis Stephens posted an article
    Reimagining Pharmacy see more

    The Evolution of Medicine is thrilled to announce our October Functional Forum with content captured at the Functional Pharmacy Symposium on September 23 in Nashville, TN.

    In recent months on the Evolution of Medicine podcast, we have been sharing conversations that show how pharmacies and pharmacists are at the forefront of functional medicine delivery. Attending this event is a fantastic opportunity to connect with the community and learn from presentations by leading educators and thought leaders in the functional pharmacy space.

    The 8th Annual Functional Pharmacy Symposium is called Cardiometabolic Patient Care: Foundational Strategies and Emerging Concepts. Our Functional Forum speaker highlights from the symposium include the following:

    Easton Bryant, PharmD: He is an advocate for independent pharmacies and a social media powerhouse who has rapidly grown a seven-figure e-commerce business rooted in functional medicine principles and patient empowerment.

    Tom Guilliams, PhD: Longtime friend of the podcast, Dr. Guilliams will be speaking about cardiometabolic risk, understanding limitations of traditional risk guidelines, and how lifestyle and functional medicine can identify, prioritize, and treat risk factors.

    Mark Houston, MD, MS, FACP, ABAARM: Dr. Houston is an educator, clinician, author and researcher with extensive experience in cardiometabolic disease. He also founded the Hypertension Institute at Saint Thomas West Hospital in Nashville, TN.

    Lauren Castle, PharmD, MS, AFMC: Dr. Castle is a pharmacist with a Master of Science in human nutrition and functional medicine, and she is the founder of the Functional Medicine Pharmacists Alliance (FMPhA). She leverages social media to spread awareness about functional medicine, health and wellness.

     October 02, 2023
  • Louis Stephens posted an article
    A One-Woman Evolution of Medicine see more

    Featuring:
    Robin Berzin, MD

    The Evolution of Medicine is thrilled to announce our September 2023 Function Forum featuring a returning guest, Robin Berzin, MD, who is the founder and CEO of Parsley Health. Dr. Berzin was a keynote speaker on the second-ever Functional Forum and a keynote speaker for us at the kickoff of the first Evolution of Medicine summit in 2014.

    This show will follow an atypical format that only focuses on one practitioner, featuring a conversation between James and Dr. Berzin recounting their ten years of friendship and a chronicle of Dr. Berzin’s journey through developing Parsley Health. Here’s a preview of her journey:

    1. Dr. Berzin started Parsley Health in 2015 using a micropractice model and working off of a laptop at a coworking space in New York. Parsley Health began as a tech-enabled, low-overhead, membership-based practice, which also made Dr. Berzin a key successful example in James Maskell’s first book, The Evolution of Medicine.
    2. As you will hear, she was responsible for establishing Parsley Health’s first 300 patients as their physician, but as the practice grew, she hired more clinicians, opened three physical locations and even initiated further telehealth services.
    3. Now, Parsley Health is the largest functional medicine clinic in the world. They have locations in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and they offer telemedicine services across all 50 states. They have over 40 doctors and have treated tens of thousands of patients.
    4. You will hear how Parsley Health fared, both positively and negatively, during the pandemic, and how it has recently established relationships with both insurance companies and employers. Currently, they are in-network for 10 million insured Americans.

    What an incredible journey she’s had. There are so many lessons Dr. Berzin shares for practitioners and leaders at any stage of their organization development. We hope you can join us to learn from her inspiring and enlightening journey.

     September 11, 2023
  • Louis Stephens posted an article
    Mitochondrial Mayhem see more

    •    Robert K. Naviaux, MD, PhD
    •    Andrew Heyman, MD, MHSA
    •    Ritchie Shoemaker, MD

    In 2019, we brought our cameras to an event in Dallas hosted by The George Washington University, where we learned about and captured presentations on the role of mitochondria in health and disease.

    This topic is rapidly evolving within the personalized and functional medicine communities.

    In October of this year, we will attend the A4M conference on mitochondria in Dallas to bring you updated research in presentations from new and returning speakers.

    The 2019 conference focused on mitochondria as the powerhouse of the cell. However, the latest research demonstrates mitochondria possess a much broader range of functions involving many bodily systems, including the immune system.

    In our August Functional Forum, we will share with you a presentation clip featuring Robert K. Naviaux, MD, PhD, one of the 2019 conference keynote speakers.

    Dr. Naviaux is internationally known for his expertise in human genetics, inborn errors of metabolism, metabolomics and mitochondrial diseases. At the University of California San Diego (UCSD), he runs the Robert Naviaux Laboratory, which researches mitochondrial dysfunction genetics. He is also the founder and co-director of the Mitochondrial and Metabolic Disease Center at UCSD, the co-founder and a former president of the Mitochondrial Medicine Society, and a founding associate editor of the journal Mitochondrion.

    In addition, we'll have special interviews with two other speakers: Andrew Heyman, MD and Ritchie Shoemaker, MD.

    Dr. Heyman is a pioneer, scientist, clinician and educator, and he is currently the Program Director of Integrative and Metabolic Medicine at The George Washington University and the Director of Academic Affairs for the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M). He is triple board certified in family medicine, integrative medicine, and anti-aging and regenerative medicine. Dr. Heyman is considered a world expert in biotoxin illness and chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS).

    Dr. Shoemaker is well-known for his work on infections and how they drive downstream inflammatory pathology. He has devoted his career to unveiling the complexities of CIRS, which can be caused by exposure to damp buildings, cyanobacterial blooms, dinoflagellates, spirochetes, apicomplexans and recluse spiders, among others. He began the first biotoxin illness practice in the United States in 2002 and has treated over 10,000 patients with CIRS and related illnesses. His research has led to the publication of 11 books, several book chapters and over forty peer-reviewed publications.

    Deepen your understanding of the role of mitochondria and catch up on the most exciting and universally relevant area within medicine.

     August 07, 2023
  • Louis Stephens posted an article
    The Functional Forum Goes to London see more

    •    Robert Lustig, MD
    •    Victoria Maizes, MD
    •    Lara Salyer, DO

    The Evolution of Medicine is thrilled to present the July 2023 Functional Forum, streaming on July 10.

    In 2016-2017, we shot five Functional Forum episodes at the Royal Society of Medicine, with Dr. Ranjan Chatterjee as the host.

    This time, we will bring you footage from two events in the UK: The Integrative & Personalised Medicine (IPM) Congress and the London Functional Forum relaunch event. Our coverage will feature video content of James Maskell as well as speakers at both events, including:

    Dr. Robert Lustig, UCSF Professor emeritus of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology. He is a leading educator focusing on the metabolic health pandemic.

    Dr. Victoria Maizes, who worked with her team at the Andrew Weil Center to create and implement some of the most innovative and effective integrative medicine educational programs, which are scaled to train thousands of health professionals collectively serving more than ten million people.

    Dr. Lara Salyer, one of the very first graduates of the Practice Accelerator (2017) who has since built a successful practice and now mentors other physicians on creating effective membership models and unlocking their creativity.

    We will also introduce our new London Functional Forum Community Host, Kirkland Newman, who is the founder and editor of MindHealth360.

    Sign up for our email newsletter to receive regular updates and news!

  • Louis Stephens posted an article
    AIC 2023 Wrap-Up see more

    Evolution of Medicine is thrilled to be heading back to the Institute for Functional Medicine's (IFM) Annual International Conference (AIC). After the event, the Functional Forum will highlight keynote speakers and conversations with practitioners and community members from around the world.

    Since 2015, Evolution of Medicine has brought our cameras to IFM’s AIC, capturing the energy and spirit of the meeting and documenting the major presentation themes.

    The content focus has varied over the years: In 2015, we learned about genetics; in 2016, the focus was on lifestyle; in 2017, we discussed brain health; 2018 was dedicated to autoimmunity; and in 2019, the talks connected the entire functional medicine community.

    After three years of meeting virtually with IFM, we are happy to be getting together again in person.

    We look forward to reconnecting with our community members as we continue to collectively grow the functional medicine ecosystem.

    Check out our coverage of previous IFM AICs:

     

  • Louis Stephens posted an article
    PLMI Wrap: Cardiometabolic Function see more

    •    Austin Perlmutter, MD
    •    Elizabeth Boham, MD, MS, RD
    •    Shilpa P. Saxena, MD

    For the Functional Forum this month, we are thrilled to share with you content captured from the sold-out Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute (PLMI) conference, Cardiometabolic Function: The Intersection Among Neurology, Endocrinology, and Immunology.

    Each year, PLMI brings together leaders within lifestyle medicine to provide in-person opportunities for connection and education. Since this event has sold out quickly for the past couple of years, we are excited to be able to share our favorite segments on video, including recorded lectures and exclusive, one-on-one interviews.

    You’ll recognize many faculty members' names from past Functional Forums and the podcast. Presenters include Shilpa P. Saxena, MD; Elizabeth Boham, MD, MS, RD; Michael Twyman, MD; Nathan Bryan, PhD; Thomas G. Guilliams, PhD; Cheng Ruan, MD; Regina S. Druz, MD, MBA, MS, FACC; Jeffrey Bland, PhD; Austin Perlmutter, MD; and David Perlmutter, MD, FACN.

    This event has an exciting lineup, with presentations covering uric acid, dysautonomia, nitric oxide, technological innovations, and the connections between metabolic health, dementia, and depression—plus many other cardiometabolic topics.

  • Louis Stephens posted an article
    The Faces of Functional Medicine see more

    •    Jeff Hunter, NP
    •    Christopher Mote, DC, DO
    •    Natalie Kunsman, MD

    The Evolution of Medicine is thrilled to present our next live, in-person Functional Forum.

    This Functional Forum will be held on Monday, April 3, 2023 in Denver, CO, and it will be hosted by Justyn Dow, who is the host of the Denver Functional Forum community.

    We are seeing more and more practitioners—and even entire healthcare systems—transition away from conventional medicine into functional medicine. Alongside this progress, more providers are specializing, and communities are forming.

    During this event, we will hear from functional medicine practitioners who have unique professional and educational backgrounds as well as experience with different payment and business models. They will share with you their tips and tricks for professional and clinical success.

    Jeff Hunter trained as a nurse practitioner in the Colorado Springs area, and more recently, he built a successful practice called Upstream Functional Medicine. He is also a cohost of the Denver Functional Forum community. During this event, he will share his clinical perspective on gastrointestinal issues as well as his journey building his business.

    Dr. Christopher Mote is the founder of Cornerstone Health Community. He started his career as a chiropractor before going back to school to become a doctor of osteopathic medicine. He will present an autoimmune patient case study.

    Dr. Natalie Kunsman is a medical doctor who focuses on hormonal health and operates a practice based in Colorado Springs. She will share with us examples of how she has resolved patient cases using a functional medicine approach.

     April 03, 2023
  • Louis Stephens posted an article
    The Connection Between Cardiovascular Risk and Chronic Disease see more

    • Mimi Guarneri, MD
    • Regina Druz, MD
    • Aseem Malhotra, MD

    This Functional Forum continue our recent focus on cardiovascular health, which we kicked off at last month's Forum on endothelial health.

    On Monday, March 6, we will be hosting several phenomenal guests, all experts on cardiovascular health care who are challenging the status quo of conventional cardiology.

    Mimi Guarneri, MD, a returning guest of the Forum, has mentored integrative and conventional cardiologists alike. She will share her perspective on the current state of her field and how she thinks the cardiology landscape will shift in the future. She will also share her best practices and tips for clinical success.

    Regina Druz, MD is an international expert in cardiac imaging, a digital health innovator and a functional medicine practitioner. She recently became the National Director of Cardiology with ChenMed, a value-based care delivery entity. Dr. Druz will teach us about that payment system and how it has the potential to bring functional cardiology into the mainstream.

    And finally, we'll feature a special interview with Aseem Malhotra, MD, who has been a proponent of lifestyle-based interventions for chronic disease for years. More recently, he has advocated for the suspension of the mRNA vaccines because of their impact on cardiovascular health. He will discuss malfeasance within the pharmaceutical industry and how statistics can be misrepresented to push certain drugs, such as statins.

    Please subscribe to the Functional Forum YouTube channel, or sign up to receive our emailed newsletters for updates and to receive event recordings when they are available.

     March 06, 2023
  • Louis Stephens posted an article
    The Endothelium: What You Don't Know May Hurt Your Patients see more

    • Mark Houston, MD
    • Michael Twyman, MD
    • Kristine Burke, MD

    As we approach the ninth anniversary of the Functional Forum, the Evolution of Medicine is pleased to announce our upcoming event on February 6, 2023. The interactive discussion will address cardiovascular health and feature panelists Mark Houston, MD; Michael Twyman, MD; and Kristine Burke, MD.

    Dr. Mark Houston is a specialist in cardiovascular disease and hypertension, and he currently serves as the Director of the Hypertension Institute at Saint Thomas West Hospital. With a background in nutrition and functional medicine, Dr. Houston has published over 150 articles and scientific abstracts and authored over 70 clinical research studies in hyperlipidemia and cardiovascular disease.

    Dr. Michael Twyman will join to offer his expert knowledge of the endothelium, including its importance on heart health and how clinicians can better support heart health by understanding the function of the endothelium.

    Also joining the Forum live will be Dr. Kristine Burke, an established functional medicine doctor who claims that none of her clinic’s patients have ever suffered a heart attack. We’ll hear from her how and why she thinks this is the case.

    You can expect a powerful, educational and timely discussion from this event. Please join the conversation and invite more clinicians to attend live.

     February 06, 2023
  • Louis Stephens posted an article
    Kicking Off a Year of Connection see more

    • Zach Bush, MD
    • Nathan Price, PhD
    • Jeffrey Geller, MD

    Following up on our 2022 year of growth, we are thrilled to announce our theme for 2023: connection.

    As a natural progression of our work from the last eight years, the concept of connection will be the focus of the live January 2023 Functional Forum. Throughout the year, we will continue to ask questions, like, "What does it mean to be connected?" and "How does connection enhance the practice of medicine?"

    Our first panelist will be Zach Bush, MD. He is a triple-certified board physician who has become a permanent voice in our space. Dr. Bush is well known for talking about the connection between individuals and environmental health. He is also a strong supporter of regenerative agriculture and soil health. From his perspective, human health depends upon our connections.

    We will also be joined by Nathan Price, PhD. For many years, Dr. Price was a professor with the Institute for Systems Biology. He speaks about interconnectedness and will talk about his interest in tracking chronic disease reversal. We look forward to having Dr. Price join the Functional Forum for the first time.

    Our third guest, who was also pivotal in developing the Community Cure, is Jeffrey Geller, MD. He has been delivering group care to the underserved for over twenty years and has become an expert in bringing patients together. He'll bring a strong interpersonal approach to this stellar panel.

    I hope you can watch live, and please take advantage of the time we have with our guests by submitting questions for them to answer using #functionalforum on Twitter.

    We look forward to connecting with you throughout 2023.

     January 09, 2023