By Henry Ehrlich
This website has slowed to a crawl during the pandemic. We have lost one of our founders Dr. Larry Chiaramonte. We also suffered another significant loss. But we’re trying to get back on our feet. Today we announce to upcoming 7th East-West Integrative Medical

Symposium for Immunology & Wellness–Clinical Practice, Science, & Technology, which will be shared on Zoom for the second year. I have been working with Dr. Xiu-Min Li since 2010 when we published her first post about using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to treat allergic diseases, and this collaboration hasn’t slowed. She and I have been working on a new book about eczema, which is almost finished. Dr. Li’s laboratories have have maintained a robust research agenda, and her clinic has served patients remotely.
This year’s conference offers several speakers who have been featured in these pages, notably Dr. Susan Prescott, the Australian author of The Allergy Epidemic, a seminal work on the links between environmental change and the increase in non-communicable inflammatory diseases, including allergies. I reviewed it in these pages in 2011 after pestering her publisher unmercifully to send me an advance copy. Another is her compatriot, Dr. Peter Smith, whose False Alarm Hypothesis ties the rise in food allergies to contemporary diet (spoiler alert: french fry lovers won’t like it). Over the next couple of weeks we will feature work of all the participating contributors in these pages as we adjust to the new world wrought by Covid-19.
7th East-West Integrative Medical Symposium for Immunology & Wellness
Clinical Practice, Science, & Technology –
Date and Time: Sunday, July 25, 2021 8:30am-3pm EST
Videoconference hosted by:
New York Medical College Valhalla, USA
Sunday July 25, 2021 starting at 8:30am EST
PROGRAM:
8:30-8:35am Opening Remarks Paddy Reynolds, M.P.H. Associate Dean for Academic Administration, School of Medicine, New York Medical College
Session I: Cutting-edge research and integrative medicine for food allergy
8:40-8:45am Introduction by Moderator: Atul N. Shah, MD, Founder, Center 4 Asthma Allergy; NY Food Allergy & Wellness
8:45-9:00am Susan Prescott, MD PhD, Professor of Pediatrics, School of Pediatrics and Child Health at University of Western Australia. Dr Prescott will review her cutting-edge research into the early environmental determinants of health and disease (15 min).
9:00-9:15am Pete Smith, MBBS FRACP PhD BMedSc, Professor Clinical Medicine, Griffith University in Queensland, Australia. Dr Smith will speak on the False Alarm Hypothesis, a novel theory on how diet primes the immune system for food allergy (15 min).
9:15-9:30 am Anna Nowak-Wegrzyn, MD, Professor, Director, Division of Allergy/ Immunology, New York University Medical Center. Dr Nowak-Wegrzyn will discuss current food allergy therapy and a prospective clinical study of a natural compound for food allergy (15 min).
9:30-9:45am Xiu-Min Li, MD, Professor, Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College. Dr Li will discuss a novel approach for a natural nano-medicine to reset the gut microbiome for induction of tolerance in food allergy (15 min).
9:45-10:00am Sanjeev Jain, MD, PhD, Co-Founder and President, Columbia Asthma and Allergy. Dr Jain will present the integration of oral and sublingual immunotherapy with TCM for severe food allergy. (15 min)
10:00-10:10am Gary Soffer, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Soffer will review TCM for eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE). (10min)
10:10-10:30am Food Allergy Panel Discussion (20min)
Session II: Integrative Medicine for Eczema and Skin Disorders
10:45-10:50am Introduction by Moderator: Qian Yuan MD, PhD, Associate Pediatrician, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children
10:50-11:05 am Anne Maitland, MD, PhD, Assistant Clinical Professor, Clinical Immunology, Mount Sinai. Dr. Maitland will provide an update on the clinical manifestations of mast cell activation syndrome, current treatment options and the role for TCM. (15 min)
11:05-11:20 am Jan Geliebter, PhD, Professor, Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College. Dr Geliebter will review microbiota in eczema. (15 min)
11:20-11:35 am Kamal Srivastava, PhD, Assistant Professor, Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College. Dr. Srivastava will discuss biomarkers of eczema. (15min)
11:35-11:50am Mazin Al-Khafaji,TCM Practitioner, Avicenna Center for Chinese Medicine (UK). Dr. Al-Khafalii will outline Traditional Chinese Medicine’s understanding and treatment of dermatological disease. (15 min)
11:50 am-12:10pm Xiu-Min Li, MD, Professor, Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College Dr. Li will present multi-component TCM treatment options for steroid-dependent or steroid withdrawal associated severe eczema , including a description of her treatment protocols with patient testimonials. (20min)
12:10-12:30 pm Eczema and Skin Disorders Panel Discussion (20min)
Lunch (30 min)
Session III: Cutting Edge Research in Integrative Medicine
1:00-1:05 pm Introduction by Moderator: Paul Arnaboldi, PhD, Assistant Professor, Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College
1:05-1:20 pm Jing-Ke Weng, PhD, Associate Professor of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; member, Whitehead Institute. Dr. Weng will present the science, technology, and discovery of botanicals for health (15 min).
1:20-1:35 pmRaj Tiwari, PhD, Professor, Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College. Dr. Tiwari will review the use of natural compound berberine in cancer therapy (15 min)
1:35-1:50pm Paul Arnaboldi, PhD, Assistant Professor, Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College. Dr. Arnaboldi will discuss research progress and challenges with chronic Lyme disease (15 min).
1:50:-2:00pm Anish Maskey, PhD student, Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College. Abstract presentation: IgE independent induction of EoE by airborne antigens via up- regulation of Th2 responses (10min).
2:00-2:10pm Ibrahim Musa, PhD Student, Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College. Abstract presentation: Natural compound suppression of IgE production by myeloma cells via regulation of IgE heavy chain and XBP-1(10min).
2:10-2:20pm Tory McKnight, Medical student, New York Medical College. Abstract presentation: TCM effect on frequent hives (10min).
2:20-2:30pm Jonathan Nesheiwat, Medical student, New York Medical College. Abstract presentation: TCM effect for hyper serum IgE associated with allergy (10min)
2:30-2:50pm Q&A (20 min)
2:50-3:00pm Closing Remarks and Award Presentation Paul Ehrlich, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics at New York University Grossman School of Medicine