Welcome from the Conference Chairs

Medicine, as we know it, is no longer affordable or sustainable. Nor is it able to curb the increase in obesity, mental health problems and most long-term disease. Dr Michael Dixon, Chair of the College of Medicine, will highlight how it is now time for Integrative Care to take centre stage - combining the best of our current medicine with an approach that enhances our natural abilities to self-heal and stay healthy using lifestyle and a wider range of therapies.

Healing is on many peoples' minds today. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and a host of other disruptions and disasters, many of us feel that we need healing in our personal lives, for the environment and for our planet. Emeritus Professor Paul Dieppe will highlight how modern medicine needs to be more pluralistic in its approach to health and accept that spirituality and healing techniques have roles to play alongside scientific medicine.

The session will focus on the evolving role and range of social prescribing in national healthcare.

The Panel: Professor Tony Avery OBE, National Clinical Director for Prescribing NHS England; Dr Lucy Pollock, consultant geriatrician and best selling author; Charlotte Osborn-Forde, CEO National Academy of Social Prescribing; Dr Kelly Thornber, Co-Director Pharma Pollution Hub; Hamaad Khan, co-lead Beyond Pills Hope for the Future; Sian Brand, Chair Social Prescribing Network (hosted by CoM), College of Medicine

 

Dr Leslie Stone and Chris Moore have been applying principles of health preconception and pregnancy management by integrating genomic and nutrient biomarker testing with nutrition, nutrient, and lifestyle interventions.  They will highlight how this has successfully decreased adverse pregnancy and pre-term birth rates resulting in significant reduction in associated healthcare costs, and improved health resilience across the lifespan. 

New strategies integrating diet, the microbiome and the tumor microenvironment to improve outcomes

Prof Robert Thomas is currently undertaking a national double blind Randomised Control Trial looking at gut health and prostate cancer outcomes - the first prospective clinical study in the world!  He will explain how they are helping to educate patients to improve gut health in routine practice plus highlighting the work around diet, lifestyle, physical activity and sleep.  

Professor Debbie Sharp is leading the evaluation of a pilot social prescribing project that has linked general medical practices in deprived areas of SW England with two local farms.  Patients have been referred by their GP for the project which is intended to demonstrate the potential role of healthy food, engaging with the outside environment, farming and sustainable food production with improving individual health and healing.

Dr Wafaa, a clinical oncologist trained in functional medicine, will highlight how she works with her patients to encourage positive lifestyle modifications, as she is a firm believer in following reliable methodologies and individualised protocols.

Claire Sambolino and Clare Grundel will share case studies of the power of combining current NHS primary care structures with the provision of nutritional therapy services and present the case for getting nutritional therapy out of private practice and available to only a few, and into public health provision.

Julia Bradbury, a well known TV Presenter and author describes herself as a 'cancer thriver' and now a health advocate will share her experiences of being diagnosed with cancer and her own journey of building a multi-disciplinary team to optimise her treatment, health and recovery. She will be joined by her nutritionist Pauline Cox and integrative medicine doctor, Dr Elizabeth Thompson, CEO of the National Centre for Integrative Medicine.

Helen Gowers will share the hundreds of success stories of this innovative programme designed to support people with diabetes. TLC is now commissioned to deliver QISMET accredited, structured education, and lifetime support alongside existing primary care services. 

Dr Gersh is adept in all areas of women's health but is especially renowned for her expertise in female hormones. Her holistic approach to the female aging process looks at comprehensively addressing the impacts of circadian rhythm disruption, sleep disturbances, pharmaceuticals, environmental toxins, nutrient and hormonal deficiencies, gut microbiome imbalances and chronic stress.

 

Dr. Mark Menolascino will discuss how precision medicine for cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment involves a holistic approach, considering an individual's genetic makeup, lifestyle choices, and environmental factors to tailor interventions that address their cardiovascular health and target specific disease characteristics.

Michael Dooley, an NHS Consultant Gynaecologist, will highlight the benefits of providing an integrated patient-centred approach to women’s healthcare, offering the most appropriate evidence-based choice of conventional and complementary treatments to address the patients’ wishes, beliefs and needs.

Dr Boon Lim is an NHS consultant Cardiologist, and obtained a PhD from Imperial College on the Autonomic Nervous System in heart rhythm abnormalities. He has published on heart rate variability and having trained as a HeartMath coach, he incorporates breathwork coaching in his day to day practice with cardiac patients, and staff members. In this session, he will discuss why heart rate variability matters, and demonstrate simple training techniques to enhance acute and long term heart rate variability.  

Rohini Bajekal will discuss the evidence for proven lifestyle approaches alongside western medicine, with a focus on the role of plant-based nutrition in managing PCOS.

Dr Torkil Færø, is a GP and emergency physician and author of the Pulse Cure which is one of the best selling non fiction books in 2023 in Norway, and is still on the national best seller list one year after publication.  He will explain the science and physiology behind what these wearables can tell you and how you can use them to positively improve both yours and your patients overall health.  

A comprehensive exploration of osteoporosis from a functional perspective with women’s health expert, Tanya Borowski; she will explore the intricate connections between the immune system, vascular system, the gut microbiome, hormones and osteoporosis.

A new health initiative promoting playing the bagpipes to improve certain lung conditions and breathing difficulties has been launched at Dumfries House. The King’s Foundation unique pilot healthcare programme will incorporate bagpiping and holistic therapies with the aim to provide participants with a range of self-management tools to empower them to improve their overall health and wellbeing.

Central to the IPM congress is the role it plays in bringing together healthcare practitioners from a range of disciplines but who share the common goal of practising whole person, patient centred care. We aim to celebrate the common threads and foster mutual understanding and respect for different perspectives while inspiring more practitioners to embark on this rewarding approach to healthcare. 

In this panel discussion you will hear from an integrative medicine doctor, Dr Elizabeth Thompson; a practicing GP Dr Laura Marshall-Andrews; a Herbalist, Alex Laird; a dentist, Dr Roop Mann and a functional medicine physician, Dr Mohammed Enayat.

As a Naturopath and Functional Medicine Practitioner, Dr Kristi Morlan-Hughes has dedicated her professional path to the study and practice of root-cause medicine and has a particular passion in supporting the development of multi-disciplinary teams.  She previously served as a Director of Medical Education at the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) for a decade and now continues to guide health coaches, nutrition professionals, and root-cause focused health care providers in their medical education journey in her various programmes and group learning opportunities.

 

Welcome from the Conference Chairs

Dr Simon Lewis, College of Medicine Council Member who is the lead for the Bodymind Faculty at the College of Medicine welcomes you to the Integrative Mental Health conference which aims to highlight some of the latest research and clinical examples of integrative approaches to address the mental health crisis that our healthcare system faces today.

An internationally recognised expert in nutritional and metabolic psychiatry, Dr Georgia Ede, will highlight the crucial connections between nutritional quality, metabolic health and mental health, and how our modern ultra processed toxic food environment directly contributes to the root causes of mental health.

Dr Uma Naidoo presents cutting-edge research about the ways anxiety is rooted in the brain, gut, immune system, and metabolism. Drawing on the latest science on the connection between diet and anxiety, Dr Naidoo shows us how to effectively use food and nutrition as essential tools for calming the mind.

Common and less common symptoms of the perimenopause and menopause, and the health risks associated with the low hormone levels will be explored in this presentation with Dr Louise Newson. The evidence regarding management of mood-related symptoms with hormones, including testosterone, will be discussed also with reference to clinical cases.

Dr Pratima Singh will share her clinical experience of using integrative and functional medicine to treat teenagers and adolescents with this autoimmune and inflammatory condition that can have a significant impact on a child's well-being.

Clinical EFT is an evidence based, manualised, stress reduction technique that combines elements of cognitive and exposure therapy with somatic tapping of acupressure points. In this presentation, Aga Kehinde will briefly introduce you to EFT, the evidence base and the Tapping points.

Dr Ajaz will provide an overview of the importance of the gut-brain axis in understanding the root cause and treating mental illness through sharing both the latest scientific literature and his own clinical insights of using evidence-based, non-pharmacological/natural treatments to help his patients end their mental illness.

A group of world-leading brain health scientists has come together to launch Alzheimer’s Prevention Day which took place on May 15th. 2024.  The day aims to raise awareness of the scientifically proven ways Alzheimer’s can be prevented and aims to highlight what’s driving future risk and what can be done to reduce it.

Dr William Bird is a passionate advocate of the power of nature to benefit health, a concept now well recognised as Green Social Prescribing. Dr William Beharrell is a doctor specialising in psychiatry in the NHS and also the Founder and CEO of the Fathom Trust where they use traditional craft making and conservation to support those experiencing psychological distress;  Dr Carly Wood's research is on the the social and therapeutic benefit of using horticulture for the treatment of mental ill-health.  

As one of the few doctors in the UK certified to run the Harvard Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) program, Dr Safia Debar will highlight techniques for empowering people to leverage their neuroscience and manage stress effectively through mind-body practices.

Dr Alberto Pertusa is a consultant psychiatrist with over 15 years of clinical experience specialising in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD.  He will discuss the symptoms of ADHD and how it is diagnosed; the concept of neurodivergence and will give an overview of conventional treatments (medication & therapy) and the functional approaches for ADHD.

Several medicinal plants have shown promise in potentially alleviating symptoms or slowing down cognitive decline, but this presentation with Prof Kerry Bone will focus on two key leads, highlighting the growing clinical evidence. Ginkgo biloba, Curcumin, Bacopa and Saffron. The effectiveness & controversies will be discussed.

With psychedelics fast becoming an important part of 21st Century health and wellbeing, Dr Duncan Still will provide an update on the roll-out of psychedelic-assisted therapies in the US and Australia as well as exciting developments in the UK and notable increases in psychedelic use across the globe. He will go on to raise important questions about some of the risks of the so-called Psychedelic Renaissance and then look at how we can help psychedelics achieve the great promise that they hold. He highlights their clear potential to alleviate suffering for many of those caught up in the midst of our Mental Health crisis but also asks us to consider the possibility that they might provide something even deeper. Could they provide solutions for societal rifts and even planetary                                  health?

Dementia can be prevented, and Dr Kat Toups knows this first hand. Dr Toups is a San Francisco Bay Area psychiatrist, but she is also an accomplished researcher who led investigations in 20 extensive clinical trials focused on Alzheimer's and MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment). While working in this area, she developed dementia herself, and by using functional medicine, she reversed her own decline. Dr Kat Toups will show how dementia and cognitive decline can be prevented and reversed through a fundamentally new approach: by attending to factors that affect brain function, including diet, toxins, inflammation, infections, hormone deficiencies, and stress.

Welcome from the Conference Chairs

Healthy Food: For everyone, is a key chapter in the College manifesto and part of The College of Medicine’s vision for better healthcare in the next decade, which underlines the importance of good nutrition at both a local and national level.

Simon Mills and Prof Kerry Bone, world leading phytotherapy experts more commonly known as Mills and Bone, will share their knowledge and teachings, highlighting the significant benefits of the nutrient powerhouses of herbs and spices, and provide tips of how you can use them to support metabolism in clinical practice.

The core philosophy of the Circle of Soup is to foster an intuitive approach to cooking while emphasizing the importance of gut health: elucidating how the food we consume plays a pivotal role in our physical and mental well-being. The presenters will share the stories of how the programme, taken into General Practice, food-bank and other settings, empowers attendees.

Dr Nasha Winters will provide a lively discussion on emerging research on strategies to enhance the quality and quantity of our precious time, including; focusing on metabolic and mitochondrial health, as well as aspects of metabolic psychiatry; By analysing individual data (labs, epigenetics, location, support, motivation) and to help one overcome the road blocks that might prevent optimal health. She will wade through the volumes of misinformation and hype, and help discern fact from fiction with regards to best supportive strategies.

While the risk factors for metabolic syndrome are widely recognised (poor diet, imbalanced microbiome, physical inactivity, stress etc.), the reasons for these connections tend to remain hazy, even in scientific literature, making it hard to differentiate between root causes and downstream effects.  Dr Alex Wilber, will give a narrative explanation for the tangled web of connections surrounding metabolic syndrome to enable you to best personalise lifestyle/functional medicine interventions for your patients.

Dr James Fleming will share details on a project where children in a local school, where food is being grown and learned about and where the environment is central to this teaching, were asked by HM King Charles III to answer 7 question about food and sustainability. This is the story of the journey they took to find the answers, and in doing so how they inadvertently persuaded a huge number of people and organisations to consider and engage with this important topic.

Dr William Harris, PhD, FASN is the President of the Fatty Acid Research Institute and a lead researcher in the omega-3 fatty acid field, with more than 360 scientific papers - the vast majority on Omega-3.  He will highlight the latest research around omega-3;  which omega-3s are most important and why; why omega-3 testing is key to ensuring you are getting the right omega-3s from your diet.

The mouth not only is the gateway to the rest of the body, but has been shown to have a direct impact on diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic kidney disease etc. During this talk Dr Sampson will discuss the approach she takes to optimising oral health using salivary biomarkers, the importance for clinicians to factor in the health of the mouth when treating patients, and top tips to balance the oral microbiome.

Sophie Trew will demonstrate some simple vagus nerve activation exercises to help calm the nervous system which in turn will improve digestion.

After suffering from skin disease, Rosacea, and insulin resistance for more than five years and seeing multiple doctors without success, Dr Radka Toms resolved her own skin problems by developing a comprehensive approach rooted in functional medicine principles, addressing the underlying factors contributing to rosacea.  By restoring gut health, managing stress and sleep, optimizing nutrition, and adopting a self-love narrative and a skin-supportive routine, individuals can reduce inflammation and redness and in some cases, eventually achieve healing from rosacea.

Darryl Edwards will deliver a TED-style presentation on the transformative power of movement as medicine, exploring multiple reasons why active play is among the most effective methods to enhance health.

Doctors are often of the belief that heart health is the most important area for patients to concentrate on and that the liver was a minor player. Dr David Unwin explains how understanding the significance of Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) which is now affecting 38% of the developed world, is the key to preventing both diabetes and a lot of cardiovascular illnesses.

Dr Deanna Minich is an internationally recognised teacher, author, scientist, speaker, and artist. Her passion is bringing forth a colourful whole-self approach to nourishment and bridging the gaps between science, soul, and art in medicine, while adding colour and light to the often confusing and polarising topic of nutritional science.