Navigating through the sea of medicine

This is more of a personal entry. It is not a secret that I will be leaving China in a couple of days, after having spent 17 years in Beijing and Guangzhou. I leave my job at the Sports Trauma Hospital with feelings of great accomplishment and satisfaction after putting together a fully functional spinal deformities correction department.  However, since February there has been a hostile overtake of the hospital administration, and a split between the Niu Family. As a result, I decided not to follow either of the brothers, and opted to pursue an academic and clinical position in Phoenix, AZ.    Before leaving though, I had the chance to meet with my PhD supervisor, Prof. Chen Li-guo who’s retiring soon. Prof. Chen was the person who single handedly took the TCM Department at the Jinan University in 2000, kickstarted its Medical Degree, then a few years later established its Medical Master’s and more recently the PhD program.  Chen had an amazing journey in medicine, ...

Today I was at  the Guangzhou TCM University, to participate in the compilation of the extension of the "RIGHT statements for clinical practice guidelines" , specific to acupuncture. With Prof. Gordon Guyatt, the father of Evidence Based Medicine, and many important scholars from all over the world.   I was originally invited to join this team by Prof. Tang Chun-zhi, the Dean of the Acupuncture Department at the Guangzhou TCM University.  It is also a time to say goodbye to many of my good colleagues and friends, as this will be one of the last official tasks I undertake in my capacity as Doctor and Researcher at the Zhongxing Hospital, before moving to the United States later in the summer.  See you all on the other side.

All of you who have been following my career,  probably already know that in recent years I have been working at the  Zhongxing Sports Trauma Hospital  in Guangzhou. It is run by the Niu Family from Hebei, which has a very long and rich tradition in Chinese orthopedics and ancient bone setting.    Although my title within the hospital is "Research Fellow" , I was originally employed as a doctor, and I am now moved into developing their department for  Spinal Deformities Corrections and Research . This task brings together several of my skills in  Tendon and Fascia Reconditioning Manipulations  (which I personally developed over a decade ago), my martial training and traditional herbal traumatology.    Seeing how well kids respond to a combination of Qi Gong exercises,  Schroth  training and breathing, alongside orthopedic acupuncture and related modalities has been one of the most fulfilling times in my life.    At th...

This year I was invited to speak at the  World TCM Wellness and Health Preservation Shennongjia Forum  held in Shennongjia, from October 12-15. Shennongjia in Hubei province, is the home of Shennong (The Divine Farmer), one of the legendary three mythological rulers of China, the other two being Fu Xi and Huang Di (Yellow Emperor).    The topic of my speech was:  “Maintaining Environmental Awareness when Harvesting Wild Herbs: Key concepts for the development of the herbal trade, while preserving the wild flora and fauna”   We took a few photos with my friends and colleagues. 

I haven't published a blog entry in a while, but this weekend I was invited to the Eighth Conference of WFCMS Translation Specialty Committee. This meeting is the first one I attend after completing my PhD. The President of the Guangzhou Medical University, Prof. Wang Xinhua, and the President of the WFCMS Translation Committee Prof. Li Zhao-guo, both invited me to deliver the key note speech . Later that evening, President Wang Xinhua also invited me to dinner with the University leadership and other University Deans and Presidents.  (Photo of us shaking hands below) And, finally after many months, I find the chance to leave the clinic and hang out with my friends for a couple of days. Many of them were really excited to see me, especially since working full time in the hospital takes up all of my time now. Here's a few photos.

After a long three years of research and traveling around the country to meet key experts. And after many  hours of handling rare documents and forgotten manuscripts. And after many sleepless nights trying to make sense about how disease traveled during the three major pandemics of the ancient times. And after countless seminars and communications with specialists on ancient epidemiology, and Silk Road / Belt and Road Studies. And while simultaneously working on at least 3 official textbooks and several research committees, I finally completed my PhD in Medicine.   I wrote my research diatribe at the Medical School of the Jinan University in Guangzhou. My thesis supervisor was Prof. Chen Li-guo, a famous exponent of Chinese Integrative Medicine (alongside the now retired Chen Keji). Prof. Chen Li-guo is also an important figure in the TCM world, being one of the top specialists in  Huang Di Nei Jing  and  Jing Fang  studies.   My research thesis picks ...

Back in 2012, Prof. Zhu Jian-ping first involved me in his research on TCM Terminology Standardization. His multi-million-yuan research project endeavors to standardize medical terms for legal and official purposes.    My involvement over the last four years, yielded one SCI article, several conference papers and participation in many committee meetings.   Although I am not a translator by any definition, I do however enjoy terminology research, and exploring the meaning of different medical characters throughout history and across schools of thought.    I am currently in Beijing for several projects, including  this meeting, who took place between April 24-26. I took a few photos for my archive. 

All of you who have been following my career over the last few years, probably already have a copy of my   “Gold Mirrors and Tongue Reflections”   in your collection. My original research started in 2004, as a direct response to the SARS epidemic of 2002-2003. The main idea was to look back through the history of Chinese medicine, and seek realistic solutions for a hypothetical post-antibiotic era, and learn from everything that has worked in historical attacks of pestilence. Of course, it is understood that in today’s world, the advancements in medicine mean that there are many solutions for dealing with epidemics, through the development of antibiotics, antivirals and vaccines.    But if what we have learned from SARS is an indicator, every now and then there will be a new virus that will be just a little too strong, and will spread just a little too fast, and get out of control just a little before the WHO and the goverments can respond.  Just imagine a world...

During my trip in Shanghai last winter, Prof. Cheng Chang-xun asked me to participate in the compilation committee for the English Edition of his  “Pharmacology of Chinese Materia Medica” . This is a key text published under the National“Thirteenth Five-Year Plan” Innovative Textbooks for Higher Education in Chinese Medicine Industry. This means that this textbook will be officially used as a University guide in the Chinese Materia Medica and Pharmacology Majors. It will be published through the  China Press of Traditional Chinese Medicine .   Today the main compilation team convened at the Jinan University to meet each other, discuss the contents and divide the workload.   This is the commemorating photo: And this is the official certificate appointing me member of the Editorial Board:

During my Beijing days, Prof. Chen Jia-xu was my Master’s Degree supervisor (2004-2008). Chen is perhaps one of the most famous Chinese Diagnosticians, with a stellar career in the world of Chinese medicine over the last 10-15 years. He was recently awarded a Changjiang Scholar, and he has a long list of key publications, grants and recognitions.   I first met Prof. Chen in November 2002, during my  Master’s Degree  application at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. At the BUCM, before a candidate is accepted to enroll, they should first obtain a signed document from a professor, affirming their willingness to supervise their research.   Of course, this is not an easy task, because all of the famous professors are really hard to approach, they have next-to-unrealistic standards, and the competition among potential candidates is fierce.  Also, in 2002 I didn’t speak any Chinese, and of course, the most famous and experienced professors did not speak any E...

As acupuncturists, we all wish to provide quality treatment and patient satisfaction, and each time a patient praises our healing abilities it reaffirms our belief that we are doing something right. However, what makes a patient happy is not always our level of competence in meridian diagnosis, but also various interpersonal and esoteric skills that some tend to identify and cultivate better than others. In this article, I will speak about the patient-doctor connections as described in the classical theories of Chinese acupuncture. According to the early Confucian traditions, when doctors exercise compassion and benevolence, they can become not only successful healers but also restore faith in the medical field. This is why a doctor-scholar should embark upon a meticulous study of the classics, and as Chen Shi Gong advised: “learn the contents by heart and understand them with the eyes”. The Confucian ideas about benevolence, compassion and seeking deeper understanding, were also evide...

How do you leave your mark on the ever-growing western TCM world? How do you distinguish yourself from the so many other acupuncturists that seem to know every technique and Asian healing approach under the sun?  In the late 90's I was one of the few lucky people to have been benefited from the collaboration between Middlesex University and the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. So lucky that upon graduation, I received a dual degree:  a Degree in Medicine from the Beijing TCM University, and a Bachelor's of Science from Middlesex. This enabled me to have access in both the Chinese medical world, and also the western TCM world.  However, that's only part of the point.  Back in those days, the TCM literature available to us westerners was so limited, that it only filled a couple of shelves in the basement of the Dillons Bookshop (later Waterstones) on Gower Street. Those who had access to the Wellcome Institute Library on the nearby Euston Rd, could access a lar...