The American Botanical Council (ABC) has recently added 14 new
members to its Advisory Board. This board assists in the content and
editorial development of various ABC publications such as HerbalGram, HerbalEGram, HerbClip, etc., and further provides a myriad of indispensable contributions.
“We are honored and deeply grateful for the inclusion of these
friends and colleagues to the ABC Advisory Board,” said ABC Founder and
Executive Director Mark Blumenthal. “In many ways, the appointment of
these herb experts to the ABC Advisory Board reflects an already strong
cooperative relationship that has existed for many years. The naming of
many of these respected individuals and leaders is a public recognition
of their long-term support for and contributions to ABC’s nonprofit
educational mission.”
The 14 new members include 5 highly respected herbalists—each of
whom have over 20-30 years of contributions to the American herbal
landscape, 4 physicians with extensive experience in botanical
medicine, and 5 people with doctorates in areas of ethnobotany,
pharmacognosy, pharmacology, natural products research, and nutrition.
ABC welcomes the following highly accomplished individuals with great enthusiasm:
Stacey J. Bell, DSc, is a nutritionist and research
scientist for IdeaSphere Inc., a provider of natural and organic
vitamins, nutrients, and other products. She also serves on the board
of the Kids Can Cook, a non profit agency that offers basic cooking
instruction and nutrition education to Boston middle-school-aged
children. A registered dietitian for 35 years, Dr. Bell received her
doctorate in nutrition from Boston University, with Honors in 1994. She
formerly served as vice president of research and development for
Medical Foods Inc., and Functional Foods, Inc., in Boston—both of which
she co-founded—and chief scientific officer for AFFINTA Functional
Foods which she founded. She is the previous vice president of medical
research and education for Sears Labs, and Board of Directors member
for Wild Oats, formerly an organic grocery chain that is now apart of
Whole foods. With over 60 scientific articles, Bell lectures around the
world on topics related to nutrition.
Keith I. Block, MD, is the medical and scientific
director of the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment, a center
that integrates Western medicine with scientifically-sound
complementary therapies. With over 45,000 patients, this center was one
of the first Integrative Oncology facilities in the United States,
co-founded by Dr. Block in 1980. Dr. Block is the editor-in-chief of
the peer-reviewed journal Integrative Cancer Therapies and
received his MD in 1979 from the University of Miami’s School of
Medicine in Florida. Dr. Block is the director of integrative medical
education at the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois in
Chicago (UIC). At UIC he also serves as a clinical assistant professor
for the department of family medicine and an adjunct assistant
professor of pharmacognosy. Dr. Block is also a Board of Directors
member for the Nutrition for Optimal Health Association, Inc. (NOHA),
and the author of more than 60 scientific articles.
Ray Cooper, PhD, is the chief science officer of
PhytoScience Inc., a consulting company he co-founded. Dr. Cooper began
his career in the dietary supplements industry as executive director of
research and scientific affairs at Pharmanex Inc., now a division of
NuSkin Enterprises in Provo, Utah; NuSkin sells products such as skin
care treatments. Dr. Cooper has served as vice president of research
and health sciences at the Shaklee Corporation, a natural nutrition
company, as well as the vice president for Herbalife International, a
nutrition and weight-management company. He’s also researched and
developed traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) supplements including
Cholestin®, Cordymax, and Green tea extracts. In 1978 he received his
PhD in organic chemistry from the Weizmann Institute of Science in
Israel. A Fellow of the Royal Chemical Society in the United Kingdom
and adjunct professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Dr. Cooper
has edited 4 books and published over 80 scientific articles.
Paula M. Gardiner, MD, MPH, is an Assistant
Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Boston University
Medical School. She has also been a clinical research fellow at both
Harvard Medical School’s Osher Institute and the Children’s Hospital in
Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Gardiner received her MD from Tufts
University School of Medicine in 1995, and her MPH in 2006 from Harvard
School of Public Health in Boston. She has worked at Boston
University’s Center for Excellence in Birth Defects Research and
Prevention examining the use of dietary supplements among pregnant
women. A past president of Tufts University School of Medicine Chapter
of the American Medical Women’s Association, Dr. Gardiner has authored
multiple scholarly articles, reviews, book chapters, and monographs on
botanicals.
Bill J. Gurley, PhD, is the director of the
Clinical Pharmacokinetics Research Laboratory and a professor of
pharmaceutical sciences for the College of Pharmacy at the University
of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock, Arkansas. He
has also been an adjunct professor for the College of Arts and
Sciences’ Department of Biology. He received his PhD in 1989 from the
University of Tennessee in Memphis. He has written over 100
peer-reviewed publications, abstracts, and book chapters in the areas
of pharmacokinetics, analytical method development, therapeutic drug
monitoring, herbal dietary supplements, and herb-drug interactions. His
studies involving the safety of ephedra (Ephedra sinica, Ephedraceae) dietary supplements and herb-drug interactions have been cited in various newspapers and magazines such as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek. Dr. Gurley has also had various television appearances on shows/channels such as Dateline NBC, MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, Good Morning America, and ESPN to discuss ephedra dietary supplements and their safety concerns.
Freddie Ann Hoffman, MD, is the president and Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of HeteroGeneity, LLC in Washington, DC. Dr.
Hoffman received her MD from the University of California at Davis
School of Medicine in 1976. She completed a fellowship in Pediatric
Hematology-Oncology at the National Cancer Institute, National
Institutes of Health (NIH). At the NCI, she served as section chief for
nutrition and supportive care for the Clinical Investigations Branch,
and director of extramural clinical trials of the Biologic Response
Modifiers Program for the Division of Cancer Treatment. In 1986 she
joined the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and in 1989 she became
deputy director of the medicine staff in the Office of the Commissioner
where she developed policies for botanicals, alternative medicine, and
dietary supplements. She also formed an internal FDA working group on
botanicals which drafted the FDA Guidance for Industry on Botanical Drugs, finalized by the FDA in 2004.
Uwe Koetter, PhD, is the principal and founder of Dr. Koetter Consulting Services
in
Switzerland. He formerly served as the head of research and development
and chief development officer at Max Zeller Söhne AG in Switzerland, a
manufacturer of clinically tested phytomedicines. Prior to Zeller, Dr.
Koetter directed new product development at GlaxoSmithKline Consumer
Healthcare in Parsippany, NJ, where he worked on development programs
of national and international brands like Goody's, Tums, Panadol, Eno,
and Nicorette. Dr. Koetter has served as member of several associations
and trade organizations addressing topics of quality and safety such as
the Swiss Medicinal Society for Phytotherapy (SMGP), the Swiss Society
of Industrial Pharmacists (GSIA), and the Society for Medicinal Plant
Research (GA). In 1993 he received his PhD in Pharmaceutical Biology
from Freie Universität in Berlin, Germany under the mentorship of Prof. Heinz Schilcher, PhD, vice-president of the German Commission E.
Will C. McClatchey, PhD, is a professor of botany
at the University of Hawaii at Mânoa as well as the coordinator of the
university’s ethnobotany interdisciplinary curriculum. Dr. McClatchey
earned a pharmacy degree from Oregon State University in Corvallis, an
MS in ethnobotany from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and a
PhD in Botany (Evolutionary Biology) from the University of Florida in
Gainesville (1996). He has worked as a community and consultant
pharmacist for 10 years. A jack of all trades, Dr. McClatchey has
training in a diverse array of areas such as laboratory health and
safety, hazardous waste management, adult and child cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR), and advanced and open water self contained
underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) diving. Dr. McClatchey has
written a number of scholarly articles for journals and serves as a
member of the professional societies the American Society of Plant
Taxonomists, International Palm Society, Oregon State Pharmacists
Association, Society for Economic Botany, and the Society of
Ethnobiology.
Simon Y. Mills is the director of Plant Medicine
Community Interest Company (CIC) which is an information resource for
healthcare professionals and the general public. He is secretary of the
European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy (ESCOP) and a member of
the British Government’s Herbal Medicines Advisory Committee. Mills
graduated from Cambridge University in 1970 with a degree in medical
sciences and completed professional training at the 140-year-old
National Institute of Medical Herbalists (NIMH). He has practiced
herbal health in the United Kingdom since 1977 and co-founded the
Centre for Complementary Health Studies at the University of Exeter in
Devon, England. He is a previous president of NIMH, the British Herbal
Medicine Association, and the College of Practitioners of Phytotherapy.
He has written two widely-cited and respected reference books with
co-author Kerry Bone: The Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy (Churchill Livingstone 2000) and The Essential Guide to Herbal Safety (Churchill Livingstone 2005) which received ABC’s James A. Duke Botanical Book Award for 2005.
Paul Schulick is the founder and co-CEO of New
Chapter, Inc., a manufacturer of probiotic nutrients and herbal
formulations. He established Luna Nueva, a farm in Costa Rica that
grows Biodynamic® and Demeter-certified organic ginger (Zingiber officinale, Zingiberaceae) and turmeric (Curcuma longa,
Zingiberaceae). Schulick received his master herbalist certification in
1982 from the School of Natural Healing in Springville, Utah, which was
founded by John R. Christopher, MH, ND, famous master herbalist.
Schulick wrote the best-selling book, Ginger: Common Spice & Wonder Drug (Hohm Press, 3rd edition 2001, 1st edition 1996). Together with Thomas Newmark he co-authored Beyond Aspirin: Nature’s Answer to Arthritis, Cancer & Alzheimer’s Disease (Hohm Press, 2000) and The Life Bridge: The Way to Longevity with Probiotic Nutrients (Herbal Free Press, 2002)—the latter also with Richard Sarnat, MD.
Ed Smith has worked as a professional medical
herbalist since 1973. He is the co-founder, co-owner, and chairman of
Herb Pharm, a leading manufacturer of liquid herbal extracts. Smith is
also an internationally known teacher and lecturer on herbal medicine
and botanical pharmacy. He is a founding member of the American
Herbalist Guild, has served on its Board of Directors, and is a
frequent lecturer at its national symposia. He has taught at the
California School of Herbal Studies for 11 years, is a regular guest
lecturer at Bastyr University and the National College of Naturopathic
Medicine, and has guest lectured on herbal medicine at Purdue
University and Harvard Medical School. He also authored the book Therapeutic Herb Manual: A Guide to the Safe and Effective Use of Liquid Herbal Extracts (self published, 2006).
Jay Udani, MD, is the CEO and medical director of
Medicus Research, a contract research organization that serves the
pharmaceutical and dietary supplement industries. He is the medical
director of the Integrative Medicine Program at Northridge Hospital,
and an assistant clinical professor at the University of California in
Los Angeles (UCLA)/Geffen school of medicine. Dr. Udani received his MD
in 1994 from Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago and his
medical acupuncture certificate in 1998 from UCLA. Dr. Udani is past
president of the California Medical Association, a recipient of the
American Medical Association (AMA) National Achievement Award, and
recipient of the Harvard Medical School Pinkney Fellowship in
Orthopaedic Research. Dr. Udani has authored several scholarly articles
with topics ranging from herbal extracts to acupuncture and was voted
the Best Physician Specialist and Best Medical Speaker by the Daily News in Los Angeles.
Roy Upton is the founder, editor, and executive
director of the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP). He has been a
professional herbalist for over 25 years and is the co-founder, past
president, and current vice-president of the American Herbalists Guild
(AHG). He is the staff herbalist of Planetary Herbals, a member of the
Standards Committee of the American Herbal Products Association, and on
the botanical expert advisory committees for the Association of
Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) International, NSF International
(NSF), and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP). Upton received the
James Lind Scientific Achievement Award in 2004, and authored two books
for the Keats Good Herb Guide Series: Echinacea: Everything You Need to Know About the Most Versatile of All Medicinal Herbs (Keats Publishing, 1997) and St. John's Wort: The Premier Herb for Relieving Depression, Healing Wounds and Easing Nerve Pain (Keats Publishing, 1997). Upton also co-authored the American Herbal Products Association’s Botanical Safety Handbook (CRC Press, 1997).
David Winston, RH (AHG), president of the herbal
manufacturing company Herbalist & Alchemist, Inc., is an herbalist
and ethnobotanist with over 38 years of training in Cherokee, Chinese,
and Western herbal traditions. He also has over 28 years of experience
in clinical practice. Winston is the founder/director of the Herbal
Therapeutics Research Library and the dean of David Winston’s Center
for Herbal Studies. Winston is the author of Saw Palmetto for Men & Women (Storey, 1999) and Herbal Therapeutics, Specific Indications For Herbs & Herbal Formulas (Herbal Therapeutics Research Library, 8th edition, 2003). Winston contributed to American Herbalism (Crossings Press, 1992), and co-authored Herbal Therapies and Supplements: A Scientific and Traditional Approach (Lippincott, 2001) and Adapatogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina and Stress Relief
(Healing Arts Press, 2007). Winston is a founding/professional member
of the American Herbalist Guild, and has served four terms on its Board
of Directors.
—Kelly E. Saxton |