Leading Integrative Medicine Fellowship Expands Faculty

Ann Marie Chiasson, MD, MPH, an integrative medicine authority, has joined the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine (AzCIM) as assistant director of the Fellowship in Integrative Medicine and assistant professor of medicine at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson.

“Dr. Chiasson joins the Fellowship team at an exciting time in the growth of our Center, bringing the vision, expertise and passion we need to continue to innovate and create unparalleled learning experiences,” said Victoria Maizes, MD, AzCIM executive director and professor of clinical medicine, family and community medicine and public health at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson.

Chiasson is a 2004 alumna of the UA Fellowship in Integrative Medicine and since 2006 has been lead faculty for the AzCIM Integrative Medicine Elective Rotation, educating medical students and residents on the fundamentals of integrative practice for one month, twice yearly. A nationally acclaimed speaker, she is board certified in hospice, palliative medicine and family medicine, and is the author of Energy Healing.

“Having been through the Fellowship and working as an integrative medicine practitioner and educator, I am excited to take on a strategic role,” Chiasson said. “I truly believe our program is extraordinary and I look forward to working to ensure that we lead the way with our world renowned contributors, multimedia curriculum and experiential learning.”

The UA Fellowship in Integrative Medicine is the largest integrative program in the world with nearly 1,100 alumni from all 50 states and 28 countries and terrritories. Chiasson joins Hilary McClafferty, MD, FAAP, AzCIM interim director of the Fellowship, director of Pediatric Integrative Medicine in Residency and associate professor of clinical medicine and pediatrics at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson.

The University of Arizona’s Integrative Fellowship provides an intensive, evidence-based medical curriculum that prepares and positions post-graduate medical professionals to publish, become academic leaders and create integrative medicine programs nationally and internationally. Notable academic leaders in the field of integrative medicine who are graduates of the Fellowship include Donald Abrams, MD, of the University of California San Francisco; Gerard E. Mullin, MD, MS, from Johns Hopkins; Arti Prasad, MD, of the University of New Mexico; David Rakel, MD, of the University of Wisconsin and author of the encyclopaedic Integrative Medicine; and many others. UA faculty who teach in the Fellowship include Andrew Weil, MD; Victoria Maizes, MD; Randy Horwitz, PhD, MD; Esther Sternberg, MD; and Robert Crocker, MD. Notable pioneers Rachel Naomi Remen, MD; Belleruth Naparstek, MSW; Larry Dossey, MD; Richard H. Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS; and Jon Kabat Zinn, PhD, have taught in the Fellowship, as well.

For more information about the Fellowship in Integrative Medicine, please visit www.azcim.org/fellowship

About the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine

The University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine (AzCIM) is leading the transformation of health care by creating, educating and actively supporting a community that embodies the philosophy and practice of healing-oriented medicine. AzCIM is internationally recognized for its evidence-based clinical practice, innovative educational programs, and research that substantiates the field of integrative medicine and influences public policy. Since its creation in 1994, the Center’s vision of making integrative care available to all is being realized worldwide: Center graduates now are guiding more than four million patients to take a greater role in their health and healing. To learn more about AzCIM, please visit www.awcim.arizona.edu

About Ann Marie Chiasson, MD, MPH

Ann Marie Chiasson, MD, MPH, is board-certified in family medicine and in hospice and palliative medicine. Dr. Chiasson graduated with honors from Dalhousie School of Medicine in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and completed a residency in family medicine at the University of British Columbia and a masters degree in public health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She teaches integrative medicine and energy medicine around the country. Dr. Chiasson began exploring energy healing and shamanic principles prior to entering medical school. She trained extensively with Dr. Brugh Joy, and with Mayan shamanic healers in the Yucatan peninsula. She also has worked with Tohono O’Odham and Yaqui healers and the Seri Indian Tribe on the Sea of Cortez. She is the author of the book Energy Healing, the Essentials of Self Care (Sounds True, Jan 2013) as well as a DVD, Energy Healing for Beginners (Sounds True, March 2011) and a home-study course, Energy Healing: The Essentials of Self-Care, (Sounds True, March 2011). She is the co-author of Self-Healing with Energy Medicine (Sounds True, 2009) with Dr. Andrew Weil.

Media Contact: Genevieve H. Gutiérrez