Live from the Institute for Functional Medicine Annual International Conference 2023

Photo Cred: Courtesy photos

By Avery St. Onge

The 2023 Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) Annual International Conference was held June 1-3, at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando, Florida.

Leaders in functional and integrative medicine gathered to discuss pertinent healthcare concerns such as environmental toxicity, accelerated aging, and autoimmune disease, and the transformative treatments and innovative solutions taking place in the integrative healthcare community.

Integrative Practitioner reported live from the session rooms and the show floor, bringing you exclusive interviews, breaking news, and insights from some of the top speakers.

Read more for our live coverage of the event.

Aristo Vojdani Presented Linus Pauling Award

The Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM) announced the recipient of its Linus Pauling Award at the Annual International Conference in Orlando, Florida on Thursday afternoon. The winner of this year’s award is world renowned functional immunologist, Aristo Vojdani, PhD, MSc, CLS.

The award is given to the clinician or researcher who has made a significant contribution to the development of functional medicine, either through their research or by their activities within IFM that enlarges the functional medicine model or extends the influence of the functional medicine approach.

To read more click here.

Future Applications of Wearable Technology in Healthcare

Right now, doctors are drawing large amounts of blood with a needle that hurts, making relatively few measurements from that blood, and then treating patients based on population averages, but according to Michael Snyder, PhD, every one of those steps can be improved.

Instead of analyzing patient data based on population averages, Snyder, chair of the Department of Genetics and director for the Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine at Stanford University, believes patients’ test results should be compared to their previous baseline measurements.

To read more click here.

Improving Healthspan with Intermittent Thermal Stress

Many people are aware of the benefits of reducing chronic stress, but most people don’t know that there’s actually a good type of stress, said Rhonda Patrick, PhD, at the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) Annual International Conference (AIC) in Orlando, Florida.

Often referred to as “new stress,” intermittent exposure to this form of stress can increase health outcomes and promote longevity, according to Patrick, a published scientist and health educator who studies systems biology and various non-pharmacological interventions.

To read more click here.

Q&A: Exploring the Link Between Environmental Toxins and Autoimmune Disease

Environmental toxins play a key role in human health, and to prevent disease, it’s essential that integrative practitioners address them with their patients, according to Aly Cohen, MD, FACR.

Cohen is an environmental health expert who practices rheumatology, internal medicine, and integrative medicine in Princeton, New Jersey, and her latest research explores the connection between environmental toxins and autoimmune disease. In her presentation at the Institute for Functional Medicine Annual International Conference in Orlando, Florida, Cohen discussed her findings along with functional and integrative approaches to reduce toxic exposures. 

After her session, we spoke with Cohen about key takeaways from her talk and how to tailor environmental medicine to each practice.

For the full interview click here.

How Long COVID Will Change Healthcare

If we can understand the disease patterns of Long COVID, and if those patterns become predictable, then that means they are potentially preventable and treatable, said Katelyn Jetelina, MPH, PhD at the Institute of Functional Medicine Annual International Conference in Orlando, Florida.

The problem is, long COVID is a complex disease to study, explained Jetelina, an epidemiologist, data scientist, and scientific communicator. She said long COVID has become an umbrella term for a constellation of symptoms, making it difficult for scientists to reach a consensus on its general definition. In addition, while countless people, young and old, have reported symptoms of long COVID, the condition’s prevalence is still unclear.

To read more click here.