Two feature articles in the current issue of the University of Arizona alumni magazine focus on integrative medicine at the university, highlighting the work of Andrew Weil, MD, Victoria Maizes, MD, and Esther Sternberg, MD.
The Fall 2019 issue of Arizona, the magazine of the UArizona Alumni Association, includes one article that looks at Drs. Weil and Maizes—founding director and executive director of the UArizona Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine—as “Modern Medicine Trailblazers.”
“Modern Medicine Trailblazers”
The first article, written by Cris Duschek, starts on page 26 of the magazine. It highlights the fact that the center is celebrating its 25th anniversary and, by 2022, will have its own new building to brag about.
Known widely as a popular health and wellness guru, Dr. Weil for more than two decades has promoted alternative health care approaches that complement Western medicine methods, techniques and procedures. These include an emphasis on traditional medicine, nutrition, lifestyle, naturopathic therapies, spirituality and the mind-body connection.
“I feel confident that one day we’ll be able to drop the word ‘integrative’ and it will just be good medicine,” Duschek quotes Dr. Weil as saying about the evolution of health care.
Dr. Maizes notes how much Dr. Weil has influenced how physicians practice medicine. “His goal was to change medicine, and the route … would be medical education,” she said. Over time, the center has trained more than 30 residential fellows and its 200-hour Integrative Medicine in Residency program has expanded to 86 sites and graduated more than 1,500 alumni. Online training programs serve about 160 physicians a year. That includes more than 100 oncologists over two decades, now supported by the center’s latest endeavor CANHeal (Cancer Health, Empowerment, Assistance and Learning)—an online toolkit for recently diagnosed cancer patients.
“We’re also impacting policy, which is very important,” added Dr. Sternberg, who has been very influential as the center’s research director and director of the spinoff UArizona Institute on Place, Wellbeing and Performance. “To do that you need ammunition: You need data.” Her work with wearable technologies to track health parameters is only one example of how that data can be generated.
Regardless of what direction medicine goes, the takeaway for university President Robert C. Robbins, who moderated a debate on “Prevention vs. Intervention” between Dr. Weil and fellow UArizona cardiovascular surgeon Irving Kron, MD, in February, the takeaway is that, because of Dr. Weil, “We’ll always be known for being the birthplace of this movement.”
Below are two other articles you may have seen more on at the UA Department of Medicine website:
“Healing Spaces”
Dr. Esther Sternberg’s office in a small bungalow just off campus looks out onto a shady courtyard with orange bird of paradise, fragrant Arabian jasmine, ornamental grasses and purple heart ground...
“It’s Just Surreal”
Since when do javelinas ride bicycles? Since Joe Pagac (’05) became one of Tucson’s premier muralists. His tortoises pedal pretty well, too, as do his jackalopes. They all play together on a giant wall at Sixth and Stone Avenue...
For more on the murals, such as the one pictured at right (which was sponsored by Banner – University Medicine Tucson), see: “Banner Sponsors New Murals by Local Artists to Brighten Tucson Streets” | Posted June 20, 2019
ALSO SEE:
“Site Picked for New Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine” | Posted Oct. 3, 2019
“CanHEAL, a Complimentary Cancer Patient Resource, the Latest Innovation in Integrative Medicine at UA” | Posted July 19, 2019
“Integrative Medicine Pioneer Dr. Andrew Weil Commits $15M to Name UA Center for Integrative Medicine, Bringing Total Giving to $20M” | Posted March 12, 2019