Integrative Health Grand Rounds: "Reintegrating Medicine: Nurturing Connections between Personal and Planetary Health," w Peter Wayne, PhD, Aterah Nusrat, MSc, and Michael Ferguson, PhD

Peter Wayne, PhD, is a researcher, practitioner, and instructor of mind-body and integrative therapies. He is the Bernard Osher Associate Professor of Medicine in the Field of Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Director for the Osher Center for Integrative Health, jointly based HMS and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The primary focus of Dr. Wayne’s research is evaluating how complementary and integrative therapies clinically impact aging and chronic health conditions and understanding the physiological and psychological mechanisms underlying observed therapeutic effects. He has served as a principal or co-investigator on more than 35 NIH-funded studies and has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles. Peter also has more than 40 years of training experience in Tai Chi and Qigong and is an internationally recognized teacher of these practices. Prior to his work in integrative health, Peter conducted research in the field of plant evolutionary biology and climate change, which inspires and informs his commitment to addressing planetary health issue

Aterah Nusrat, MSc, is the Director of Programming in Integrative Medicine and Planetary Health at the Osher Center for Integrative Health at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital. She received her Masters in Environmental Technology from Imperial College, London University, and has spent over 25 years delivering and supporting programs in the environmental sustainability and health and wellbeing sectors in the UK and United States. Among her achievements, she has been recognized by the British Prime Minister's Office for her work and secured over $1 million in environmental sustainability grant funding for the US city government. Supporting her professional pursuits, Ms. Nusrat is a seasoned meditation practitioner which she brings to her work in planetary health at the Osher Center. Ms. Nusrat is the founding and current Chair of the Osher Collaborative for Integrative Health Planetary Health Working Group, Invited Faculty of the Nova Institute for the Health of People, Places and Planet, and is on the board of directors for the Mind Body Ecology Institute.

Michael Ferguson, PhD, is an Instructor in Neurology at Harvard Medical School, a Lecturer on Neurospirituality at Harvard Divinity School, and a course co-instructor on the Cognitive Neuroscience of Meditation at Harvard College. He earned his PhD in bioengineering at the University of Utah where he studied religious experience using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Dr. Ferguson completed postdoctoral fellowships in Cognitive Neuroscience at Cornell University and in Cognitive Neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center before joining the Neurology faculty at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Of historical note, he and his husband were the first same-sex couple legally married in the state of Utah. Additionally, Dr. Ferguson was the named plaintiff in Ferguson v. JONAH which was the first and (to date) the only lawsuit in the United States to shut down a gay conversion therapy provider. Dr. Ferguson is thrilled to be at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and is especially grateful for the tremendous encouragement he has received at the Brigham for integrating diverse methods from brain imaging and spirituality studies. 

Continuing Education:

In support of improving patient care, University of California, San Francisco Office of Continuing Medical Education is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

UCSF designates this live activity for a maximum of 10 AMA PRA Category 1 credit(s)^TM.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. The credit maximum above reflects all Osher Center for Integrative Health Grand Rounds sessions in Fiscal Year 2024. Up to 1 credit may be claimed against any individual session.

CE for Acupuncturists:  This live activity is approved by the State of California Acupuncture Board for 1 hour of Category 1 CE course credit.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement:

Planners: The planners Shelley Adler, PhD, Selena Chan, DO, Anand Dhruva, MD, and Patty Moran, PhD, have no relationships to disclose.

Speaker(s): Aterah Nusrat MSc. DIC, & Michael Ferguson, PhD, has no financial relationships to disclose.  

Peter Wayne, PhD, is the owner of Tree of Life Tai Chi Center. Since the programs offered through Tree of Life are not used on or are consumed by patients, these relationships are not considered to be a conflict of interest by CME standards.