Who We Are

My Journey: Integrating the Best of Medicine

My foundation was built on the rigorous training of conventional medicine. I earned my B.S. from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and my M.D. from the University of Illinois at Rockford, graduating with honors. My advanced training includes a residency and a fellowship in Nephrology at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, completing my specialization in 1993.

For decades as a hospital nephrologist in Fayetteville and Greensboro, NC, I have been exposed to a lot of complex, chronic conditions. This experience has shown me the importance that modern medicine plays in diagnosis, acute care, and life-saving interventions. And also, it’s limitations.

The Search for a Deeper Approach

My personal and professional journey led me to seek a model of care that could offer more. Two family experiences created a powerful juxtaposition. My older brother was a doctor working in D.C.  He was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 1994. He used some alternative/ natural methods in his healing process, and also discovered  Eastern philosophy. He shared these ideas with me. This sparked my curiosity about natural health methods. He died in summer 1998. A few months later, my first child was diagnosed with life-threatening congenital heart disease at 4 months old. He required life-saving surgery, and is healthy today. This continues to reinforce my respect for the power and necessity of conventional medicine.

I have learned alot from all of this. Primarily, the idea that the state of our minds and bodies are inextricably linked has come to the forefront. Perhaps they should be treated with this in mind.

The Functional Medicine Synthesis

This conviction led me to Functional Medicine (FM).

I sought training that would complement my MD foundation, and am proud to have completed the systems-based FM training developed by Dr. Dan Kalish. Functional Medicine is different and attempts to identify the root causes of chronic dysfunction underlying the different diseases.

I am now dedicated to bringing an integrated approach to my community in Chapel Hill/ Carrboro, NC. My practice combines the practical experience of a seasoned MD with the personalized, whole-person, root-cause focus of Functional Medicine.

If you are interested, please let us know.