We are delighted to have the following international and national speakers presenting at the 2022 AIMA Conference.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Dr Iain McGilchrist (Scotland) sponsored by The Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust
BM, MA, FRCPsych
Dr Iain McGilchrist is a psychiatrist, neuroscience researcher, philosopher and literary scholar. He is a Quondam Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, an Associate Fellow of Green Templeton College, Oxford, a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and former Consultant Psychiatrist and Clinical Director at the Bethlem Royal & Maudsley Hospital, London.
He has been a Research Fellow in neuroimaging at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore and a Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Studies in Stellenbosch. He has published original articles and research papers in a wide range of publications on topics in literature, philosophy, medicine and psychiatry. He is the author of a number of books but is best-known for The Master and his Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World.
In November 2021 his two-volume work The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions and the Unmaking of the World was published. www.channelmcgilchrist.com
Dr Marc Cohen (Aus)
MBBS (Hons), PhD (TCM), PhD (Elec Eng), BMed Sci (Hons), FAMAC, FICAE
Marc is a medical doctor, university professor, author, poet, entrepreneur, wellness trailblazer and perpetual student of life, trying to coax the world towards worldwide wellness. Marc has spent more than 30 years practicing and researching holistic health and has served as Professor of Heath Science at RMIT University, President of the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association, and a Board Member of the Global Wellness Summit. His interests include all aspects of wellness such as health retreats, detoxification, bathing, water quality, saunas, hot springs, yoga, meditation, acupuncture, energy medicine, nutrition, herbal and plant-based medicine, fermentation, elite athletic performance and flow states. Marc has published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers and many books and technical texts on wellness and natural medicine including ‘Understanding the Global Spa Industry’ and the landmark text ‘Herbs and Natural Supplements: An Evidence-Based Guide’ along with the consciousness raising children’s books Bing & Bang Begin and The Beautiful Mare and the Boy Who Gave Thanks, He is Founder of the Extreme Wellness Institute and Co-Founder of the Bathe the World Foundation, and co-owner of Extremely Alive Wellness Tonics and Maruia Hot Springs. You can find him at www.drmarc.co and on linktree.
PRESENTERS
Dr Aimie Apigian (USA)
MD MS MPH
Aimie is the leading medical expert on how life experiences get stored in the body and restore the body to its best state of health through her signature model and methodology, The Biology of Trauma™. She is a double board-certified medical physician in Preventive Medicine and Addiction Medicine. She has a Masters in Biochemistry and a Masters in Public Health. In addition to her medical training, she is also a Functional Medicine physician and has training and certifications specifically in neuro-autoimmunity, nutrition, and genetics for addictions, mental health, and mood and behavioural disorders. She has several certifications in various trauma therapies including Instinctual Trauma Response Model (an art trauma therapy), Somatic Experiencing (developed by Dr. Peter Levine), and NeuroAffective Touch (Dr. Aline LaPierre). Aimie brings you The Biology of Trauma™: a new lens and a methodology that courageously both adds to and bridges trauma work and medicine by reverse-engineering the chronic effects of trauma on the nervous system and body on a cellular level.
Rachel Arthur (Aus)
BHSc BNat (Hons 1st)
Rachel is a respected and widely published naturopath and registered nutritionist specialising in integrative nutrition, with a particular interest in diagnostics. With over 20 years’ experience in both the clinic and the classroom, Rachel is considered a leading nutritional educator, delivering post-graduate training and mentoring to naturopaths, doctors and allied health care professionals alike. She has contributed work to authoritative texts, including all 4 editions of the award-winning: Herbs & Natural Supplements – An Evidence Based Guide (Elsevier). She delivers a popular monthly podcast Update in Under 30 and a post-graduate mentoring program for clinicians working with nutrition. Rachel’s ongoing enthusiasm for integrative health and for education make her presentations practical and empowering experiences for attendees.
Dr Cristina Beer (Aus)
MBBS (hons), FRACGP, BBioMedSci, ACNEM Member, AIMA member, Cert IV in Fitness (personal trainer)
Cris is an integrative medical doctor, author, corporate speaker, and media doctor. As an expert in integrative medicine Cris specialises not just in the treatment of illnesses but in the attaining of optimum health. She has particular interests in preventative health, lifestyle medicine, hormone health, weight loss, fatigue and sleep problems, digestive issues, as well as women’s health. She currently practices at The Medical Sanctuary as a registered medical doctor helping real patients with real health issues every day.
She was also the health consultant for The Biggest Loser retreat. Cris has worked closely alongside Griffith University’s School of Nutrition & Dietetics by being involved in joint research projects focusing on improving nutrition knowledge and delivery of general practitioners for chronic diseases.
Cris’ passion for health and wellness extends beyond the consulting room also. She is an author of the books Healthy Habits, 52 ways to better health, and Healthy Liver; with her third book Healthy Hormones being released in late 2017. She regularly contributes to body+soul as part of their expert team as well as The Daily Telegraph and other print and online publications. She has appeared on Studio 10, The Daily Edition, and SBS Insight.
David Chaloner (NZ)
B.Sc.Hons Human Sciences. Cert. AOD studies (cit)
David has spent the past 30 years working in a variety of residential AOD rehab settings – residential and intensive outpatient, NGO and private – along with assisting in program development of a private rehab in Thailand. For the past 25 years, he has operated a consultancy from within the Picton Street Practice in Ponsonby where he works with individuals exploring addictive processes, change, family systems and dynamics, motivation, relapse prevention and “recovery” maintenance, life expansion, and purpose.
Thirty-five years ago David found himself in rehab at Hammer Springs, feeling angry, defensive, and puzzled. Discovering he was, without any question and by any definition, an ‘alcoholic’ and an addict empowered him to discover his life’s purpose. He trained as an AOD clinician and interned then worked as a counsellor and facilitator at Higher Ground. He followed his passion, continuously developing his skills and experience, eventually establishing a private practice of extraordinary richness and diversity (to him). He discovered that he never wanted to do anything else and has been working independently for over 21 years. With great difficulty he also wrote a book, ASK Addiction Survival Kit and is currently regretting the decision to write another.
Dr Alberto Garoli (Italy)
OMD, BAMS
A world-renowned & pioneering health researcher & Professor at the CIO Italian College of Osteopathy; the New Osteopathy School, & the Acupuncture Institute in Italy; the DAOM in Germany; the University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China.
Considered one of the world’s foremost specialists in precision medicine, Alberto is co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of the Shae Group, including ShaeWellness, ShaeFit, ph360 and the Precision Health Alliance, and has developed a number of innovative health applications through his research, including the precision health intelligence ecosystem Shae.ai.
Alberto has also led research at Massey University, New Zealand on the neurophysiological application of artificial intelligence systems in medicine, and is also the author of 5 clinically-based books and the popular Ecogenetics, exploring the relationship between genetics, epigenetics, evolutionary and migration patterns and their impact on human health and disease. Alberto will be providing a pre-recorded presentation for the conference.
Dr Cliff Harvey sponsored by FxMed
PhD, DipFit, DipNat, FCNA
Cliff is a Registered Clinical Nutritionist and Fellow of the Clinical Nutrition Association, a Registered Naturopath and Medical Herbalist, author, and researcher. His doctoral and post-doctoral research has focussed on ketosis and ketogenesis, carbohydrate tolerance, complex autoimmune conditions, and nutrient interactions with post-COVID syndrome and COVID vaccination adverse events.
Dr Christine Houghton (Aus) sponsored by Nutrisearch
PhD.,BSc.,Grad.Dip,Hum.Nutr.,R.Nutr.
A registered Nutritionist with 3 decades of clinical experience, Christine holds a PhD in Nutrigenomics and a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Queensland as well as a Graduate Diploma in Human Nutrition from Deakin University in Victoria.
She is the Founder and Faculty Head of the Institute for Nutrigenomic Medicine and the CEO of the Brisbane company Cell-Logic, a research-based developer and manufacturer of clinically-relevant nutrigenomic formulations.
Her research projects include the application of phytochemicals in human gut, brain and metabolic health, the foundation principles that underpin the Gut Ecology & Metabolic Modulation (G.E.M.M.) Protocol. In addition to her published works, Christine is the author of evidence-based courses for practicing clinicians, the most recent of which is Conversations in Nutrigenomic Medicine.
Professor Julia Rucklidge (NZ)
BSc, MSc, PhD.
Julia is a Professor of Psychology and Clinical Psychologist in the School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing at the University of Canterbury, the Director of Te Puna Toiora, the Mental Health and Nutrition Research Lab, theme leader in the Child Wellbeing Institute, and co-author of The Better Brain jointly published by Penguin Random House and Harper Collins in 2021. Originally from Toronto, Canada, she completed her PhD at the University of Calgary in clinical psychology and in 2000, she immigrated to New Zealand. Her interests in nutrition and mental illness grew out of research showing poor outcomes for individuals with significant psychiatric illness despite receiving standard conventional treatments. For over a decade, her lab has been running clinical trials investigating the role of broad-spectrum micronutrients in the treatment of mental illness, including ADHD, mood disorders, anxiety and stress. Julia has been the recipient of many awards, including the Ballin Award from the NZ Psychological Society for significant contributions to the development or enhancement of clinical psychology in Aotearoa New Zealand, being named as a Woman of Influence in New Zealand in 2015, 2018, and 2021, and a Braveheart award for her contribution to making Christchurch a better place to live. Her 2014 TEDx talk has been viewed over 3 million times. She recently created a free EdX online course for the public on mental health and nutrition. Julia is passionate about advocating that a good nutritional foundation is central to helping people prevent and recover from mental health challenges.
Dr Stefan Schuster (Germany) sponsored by Genostics
Ph.D. (Medicinal Chemistry)
Stefan is a molecular scientist who has been in the field of diagnostics and assay development for more than 15 years. His work has focused for more than 10 years on Circulating Tumor Cells and Liquid Biopsy, starting from screening/early diagnostics towards monitoring and therapy management of cancer patients.
He is the Managing Director of Datar Cancer Genetics Europe GmbH and oversees Europe/Australia and Africa. He holds a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry and studied pharmacy. He published numerous articles about the value of Liquid Biopsies, in peer-reviewed journals. He has given lectures and talks worldwide about the utility of Liquid Biopsies to improve treatment outcomes for cancer patients.
Before his current position, he contributed essentially to the growth and the strategic development of another oncology diagnostic company where he was a member of the board as Head of Business Development.
John Stevens (Aus) sponsored by Southern Cross University’s National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine
RN PhD FASLM
John is Associate Professor in Lifestyle Medicine at the National Centre for Natural Medicine, Southern Cross University (SCU). He is also the co-Founder, current Director and Fellow of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine (ASLM). John is part of a team that has designed the world’s first Masters in Lifestyle Medicine at SCU. He is a passionate teacher and researcher with an indefatigable aim to drive a movement toward greater health equity. John and his ASLM colleagues have trained over 1000 clinicians in using SMA in their practice. He is leading and partnering in research that is pioneering the use of Shared Medical Appointments in practice. John has, or is, currently trialling the use of this process in the management of weight, type 2 diabetes prevention and reversal, chronic pain, smoking, stress, anxiety and depression. The SMA ( Medical Yarn Up) process appears to be culturally relevant and safe for Australian Aboriginal people, so John is engaged by Aboriginal Health Services in NSW to co-design the effective use of Medical Yarn ups in communities.
Dr Michelle Woolhouse (Aus) sponsored by Bioceuticals
MBBS, FRACGP, FACNEM, FASLM
Michelle is a holistic and integrative GP. She is also an author, medical director, a podcaster, lecturer, and retreat facilitator. Her philosophy is that health care should focus on the person as a whole, and address the physical, psychological, social and spiritual wellbeing of the individual. Michelle obtained her medical degree from Monash University in 1996 and is a fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioner’s (RACGP). Michelle is also a fellow of the Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine (ACNEM), and the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine (ASLM), and holds post-graduate qualifications in hypnotherapy, acupuncture, nutritional medicine, and mind-body medicine (Swinburne University). Michelle is passionate about education and is a frequent lecturer and mentor for GP registrars and doctors; she has also recently joined the Fx Medicine team as one of their hosts of the FX Medicine podcast. Michelle is a founding board member of the working party between the RACGP and Australasian Integrative Medicine Association (AIMA). She served on the ACNEM board for 6 years from 2011 until 2017 and has authored chapters in numerous integrative medicine textbooks. Her soon-to-be-released book “The Wonder Within” is a playbook for the anxious, stressed, and burnt out – this book offers a powerful antidote to mental distress and aims to help people navigate a new and scientifically validated way to relate to their fear and overwhelm. www.fxmedicine.com.au www.vively.com.au www.theholisticgp.com.au