LearnSkin

Episode 47: Integrative Medicine, COVID-19, and Beyond

profile-imagekaren Koffler MD

Episode description

Curious how we can fortify ourselves against stress and keep our immune system working well? Join Karen Koffler, MD on this week's LearnSkin podcast as she dives into the importance of integrative medicine and offers practical tips in strengthening the body's response to disease and infection. Each Thursday, join Dr. Raja and Dr. Hadar, board certified dermatologists, as they share the latest evidence based research in integrative dermatology. For access to CE/CME courses, become a member at LearnSkin.com.

Dr. Karen Koffler is an integrative medicine specialist located in Miami, FL where she directs the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Through her work, including clinical, research and education, she hopes to help transform healthcare in the U.S. to include a focus on creating optimal health in addition to treating disease.

People in this episode

Karen Koffler (2) (1)
guest

karen Koffler  

MD

Dr. Koffler received her medical degree at the University of Miami and did her training in Internal Medicine in Chicago and the University of Colorado. She began her career as an emergency room physician in a variety of settings including Indian Reservations, the Veteran’s Administration, and inner city hospitals prior to helping to develop the first Hospitalist program for Kaiser Permanente in Denver.

During her experience working in the hospital and ICU, she realized that the “health care system” operated more as a disease management system, and lacked focus on disease prevention. She became increasingly disconcerted with the status quo and often inadequate approach of medications and surgery to treat diseases already in the later stages of development. She began entertaining the value of preventing disease as a more effective strategy. However, there was little the system offered from that perspective.

This questioning led her to being accepted into the first class of physicians trained by Dr. Andrew Weil (the father of Integrative Medicine) at the University of Arizona in 1997. Over the course of 2 years, she expanded her conventional training to include nutrition, herbs, supplements, mind-body therapies, spirituality, Chinese medicine and acupuncture, and other alternative approaches. Upon completion, she was recruited to Northwestern Healthcare in Chicago to design and run an Integrative Medical Center. In 2006, she joined Canyon Ranch to direct their new Health and Wellness Center at Canyon Ranch Miami Beach. She was able to see repeatedly that chronic health issues could be reversed through changes in nutrition, appropriate exercise, supplements, improved quality of sleep, and skills to handle stress.

In 2016, she helped launch Rezilir Health, an Integrative Center focused on improving brain health and the reversal of dementia, located in Hollywood, Florida.

In her current position, she leads the development of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Through her work, including clinical, research and education, she hopes to help transform healthcare in the U.S. to include a focus on creating optimal health in addition to treating disease

In her personal life, she is committed to what she teaches: mornings start with a meditation, and an Orange Theory workout. She mostly eats a plant-based diet, always has coffee, and fantasizes about joining Doctors without Borders. She places great emphasis on her relationships including her husband, kids, and friends.

User: Hadar Lev-Tov
host

Hadar Lev-Tov  

MD MAS

Dr. Hadar Lev-Tov is a board-certified dermatologist with extensive research experience. Throughout his training and in daily practice, he has always believed that the key to achieving health for his patients is grounded in his ability to truly connect to their experiences and perceptions of health and well-being. Maimonides, one of the greatest philosophers of all time realized that human knowledge, often represented as "science," is limited. As a physician, he feels he would be a fool to believe all is known. Maimonides said, "The physician should not treat the disease but the patient who is suffering from it." LearnSkin is his journey to a better understanding of his patients.

User: Raja Sivamani
host

Raja Sivamani  

MD MS AP

Dr. Raja Sivamani is a board-certified dermatologist and practices as an integrative dermatologist at Pacific Skin Institute. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Clinical Dermatology at the University of California, Davis and Director of Clinical Research and the Clinical Trials Unit.He is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the California State University, Sacramento and an Associate Professor of Dermatology at California Northstate University, College of Medicine.He engages in clinical practice as well as both clinical and translational research that integrates bioengineering, nutrition, cosmetics, and skin biology. With training in both Allopathic and Ayurvedic medicine, he takes an integrative approach to his patients and in his research.He has published over 100 peer-reviewed research manuscripts, 10 textbook chapters, and a textbook entitled Cosmeceuticals and Active Cosmetics, 3rd Edition with a passion for expanding the evidence and boundaries of integrative medicine for skin care.

About Podcast

Welcome to the Learn Skin podcast with your hosts, board certified dermatologists, Dr. Raja Sivamani and Dr. Hadar Lev-Tov. Each week, we will be bringing you the latest in Integrative Dermatology. Send us your questions, comments, and suggestions by email to [email protected] and you may be featured in a future episode.

Hosts:  Hadar Lev-Tov, MD MAS & Raja Sivamani, MD MS AP
Audio Engineer: Vin Chandra
Editor: Jake Zawlacki

Disclaimer

This podcast is meant for educational and informational purposes only. Neither this podcast nor any information contained within it are a substitute for professional care by a doctor or other qualified medical professional. This podcast does not constitute medical or other professional advice or services. If you have a medical concern, please consult with your physician. This podcast is available for private, non-commercial use only. Advertising which is incorporated into, placed in association with, or targeted towards the content of this podcast is forbidden. You may not edit, modify, or redistribute this podcast. LearnSkin assumes no liability for any of your activities in connection with this podcast or for your use of this podcast in connection with your website, computer, or playing device.

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