Session 1: Nutrition and Herbal Medicine

*Videos posted below Welcome Message

Welcome everyone to the inaugural Stanford Evidence Based Traditional Asian Medicine conference

Welcome everyone to the  inaugural Stanford Evidence Based Traditional Asian Medicine conference.  My name is Dr. Latha Palaniappan, Professor of Medicine at Stanford University.   We are excited today to welcome over 1m500 attendees from all over the world.  Thanks to each and every one of you, this conference would not be possible without you – taking time out of your busy lives and numerous commitments to learn and connect with other great minds studying and using Asian healing traditions from around the world.

The overarching theme of our conference is to provide a scientific basis for the traditional Asian medical practices that many of our patients use.  We will hear from 13 international medical experts over the next three days to address key questions in traditional Asian Medicine, foster dialogue and learning, and identify areas for further research and development.

The conference will focus on three key areas of interest. Today, we will focus on Nutrition for preventing and controlling chronic diseases. Tomorrow, we will focus on Pain Management, and on Saturday, we will focus on Mental Health and discuss next steps for the future.

I want to thank our brilliant conference co-chairs – Dr. Neeta Gautam, Dr. Randall Stafford, and Dr. Ying Lu.   These esteemed Professors have volunteered their time and worked diligently over the last year to assemble a stellar program for you that addresses the critical research questions in Traditional Asian Medicines - including Evidence, Safety, Effectiveness, Quality and Trust.

Historically, challenges in developing consistent research methodologies have hindered the integration of traditional practices into modern medicine. We recognize that rigorous and thorough research is key to ensuring the highest levels of safety and effectiveness for our patients.

To achieve this evidence goal, the Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education has recently awarded three Seed grants in Traditional Asian Medicine.  Congratulations to our conference co-Chair Dr. Randall Stafford, who will be studying Traditional Chinese Medicines for Sleep; Dr. Richard Zare, who is working on a project to study ginger in relation to stroke; and Dr. Joshua Spin, who will be studying Securinine, a Traditional Chinese Herb, for  treatment of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm.

These seed grants were made possible this year through the inspiring vision of  Dr. Gloria Kim and the generous support of the Chi Li Pao Foundation.

This conference is made possible through the generous donations of the Chi-Li Pao Foundation and the International Medical Services Department of Stanford Health Care. I want to especially recognize all the staff who worked tirelessy behind the scenes to organize this conference with over the past year flawlessly. I want to thank my co-founder, Dr. Bryant Lin, who will be moderating the closing session.  Thanks to Shannon Judd for her program management for this conference, Chloe Sales who provided project support and will be writing the conference proceedings, Tenzin Wangdak for Social Media  support, Brigid Neff and her team Eric Koziol and Christina Cusack for their technical support on zoom.  And especially Sally Li, the new Executive Director of Stanford CARE.  Under Sally’s leadership and direction, this team has come together prodigiously -  where the whole is truly much greater than the sum of its parts.  Thanks to all of you for improving the health of patients that use Asian medicines everywhere.

Please enjoy this video about CARE, created by Dr. Malathi Srinivasan.

Many of our patients use traditional Asian medicines and healing practices. Recognizing the potential benefits of the diverse backgrounds, needs, and practices of our patients is crucial to evolving medicine for the 21st century.  We look forward to offering this conference again in future years with the generous support of our sponsors and donors.  I am looking forward to hearing over the next three days from all the great minds around the world who are working to help patients through the science of traditional healing.  The conference will be recorded, and closed captioning will be available on the Stanford CARE YouTube channel, in case any of your interested friends, colleagues, or patients were not able to attend the live conference.  Please also join us for our upcoming Stanford CARE International COVID Conference May 14.

Next, I would like to introduce Dr. Robert Harrington, Chair of the Department of Medicine at Stanford University.