The Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Lectures -- 2001: Exploring Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2003)

David M. Eisenberg, M.D., is the Director of the Center for Alternative Medicine Research and Education at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He holds the Bernard Osher Chair of Complementary and Integrative Medicine and is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. He was recently named to head the new Harvard Medical School Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies.

Dr. Eisenberg’s major research interests include the evaluation of complementary and alternative medical therapies in terms of their prevalence, safety, efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and mechanisms of action.

Dr. Eisenberg is also the Director of two Harvard Medical School courses devoted to complementary and alternative medicine. One course is offered through the Department of Medicine and the other through the Department of Continuing Education.

From 1994-1998 he served as a member of the National Institutes of Health Alternative Medicine Program Advisory Council. He is currently a member of the FDA subcommittee responsible for postmarket surveillance of dietary supplements. He has authored numerous scientific articles involving complementary and alternative medicine practice.

Catherine Woteki is Senior Research Scientist with the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences at the University of Maryland and Professor of Nutrition and Food Safety at the University of Nebraska. She holds appointments in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science and the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the University of Maryland. A nutritional epidemiologist, she served from August 1997 until January 2001 as the first Under Secretary for Food Safety in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In that capacity she was responsible for development of U.S. food safety policies through the work of the President’s Council on Food Safety and the Codex Alimentarius Commission, and for the safety of meat, poultry, and egg products under the regulatory authority of the Food Safety and Inspection Service. Prior to being appointed as Under Secretary, for two years Dr. Woteki was Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics at the USDA where she led strategic planning activities. She also was Deputy Associate Director for Science in the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy from January 1994 until January 1996.

As Director of the Food and Nutrition Board, Dr. Woteki led one of the Institute of Medicine’s most active programs. Under her direction from 1990-1993, the Board published 30 studies of food safety and human nutrition. Dr. Woteki co-authored three of the studies, one of which, Eat for Life: The Food and Nutrition Board’s Guide to Reducing Your Risk of Chronic Disease, was a Book of the Month selection. Dr. Woteki’s research interests include food safety and nutrition policy, chronic disease prevention, and population health surveillance and monitoring. She is the author of over 50 articles and 12 technical reports and books on these topics.

Dr. Woteki received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and chemistry from Mary Washington College (1969), and Master of Science (1971) and Doctor of Philosophy (1974) degrees in human nutrition from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She did post-doctoral studies in nutrition and gastroenterology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and in epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene. Dr. Woteki is a registered dietitian and a member of the Institute of Medicine.

Moderator:

Roger J. Bulger, M.D.

President

Association of Academic Health Centers