Women’s Health Symposium: An Inaugural Success

October 27, 2011

We want to thank all of you who attended our recent Women’s Health Symposium.  We received wonderful feedback from participants that overall this inaugural event was a great success for alumni and students.

This first regional symposium was designed to address women’s health from the perspective of Integrative Medicine (IM), with presenters drawn from nationally recognized leaders in women’s health.

Our keynote presenters, reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Paul Magarelli and licensed acupuncturist Diane Cridennda, improve outcomes for infertility patients by combining acupuncture with In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).  They also lectured on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, a major cause of infertility and the most common endocrinopathy in women, a condition closely linked to major public health issues of insulin resistance, obesity, and diabetes.  Participants learned about the standard of evidence-based medicine and its application to research on acupuncture for infertility and oncology. Several presenters described their clinical practice in biomedical facilities, including infertility centers, a medical center in New York, an OB/gyn clinic, and a cancer treatment center. Representing the clinical theme of the conference, NESA senior faculty presented case studies highlighting acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine treatment of menopausal hot flashes, excessive uterine bleeding, fibroids, and rashes during pregnancy and post-partum. One case illustrated successful treatment of vulvodynia using Shakuju therapy, a Japanese style acupuncture based on non-insertive needling.

We are deeply grateful to all of our presenters:  Paul Magarelli, Diane Cridennda, Belinda Anderson ‘04, Arya Nielsen ‘77, Weidong Lu, Lisa Conboy, Jeff Matrician ‘02, Jewel Sommerville ’02, Michelle Hay ‘03, Patricia Callahan ‘99, Peter Valaskatgis ‘97, Zhen-Zhen Zhang, Loocie Brown ‘93, Bing Yang and Diane Iuliano ’92, who presented thoughtfully and passionately on aspects of women’s health and their perspectives on integrative medicine.