Metabolism & Bioenergetics
In 2020 I enrolled on a PhD program to study how herbal medicines affect mitochondria, the "power houses" within our cells responsible for generating energy from food and air while also generating "free radicals" as waste. This makes them important in many states of health and disease, including metabolism, adaptation to stress and many age related disorders. They are also an essential component of our response to many traditional medical interventions including herbs, acupuncture, massage and exercise based therapies.
My achievements include:
Quality Control and Assurance
Improving the quality of Chinese medicine in the UK is of great concern to me. In herbal medicine this means implementing programs of correct identification of species, adulterants and contaminants for which my PhD aimed to contribute by developing a method of assessing herbal teas using mitochondrial analyses to determine their effects on living cell cultures. This will provide a method of profiling single herbs or blends whose ingredients may be complex or unknown without the need for unethical or expensive animal or human trials.
Some recent experiences in this area:
Pain Management and Neuroscience
The management of pain was one of the first reasons I started to study Chinese medicine. Western medicine has spent a long time trying locate and remove the anatomical source of pain when recent research has shown that physical changes are often poorly correlated with suffering. My studies into anthropology of pain management led me to look at Chinese medicine to discover what solutions were available if we approach from a different perspective. Pain medicine is slowly starting to see the value in this with multimodal management strategies very similar to ancient Chinese methods. By combining the best of modern evidence and traditional practice, we can facilitate understanding and improvement of painful conditions.
Recent courses I have undertaken in pain management include:
- 2021 - Thoughts on a Dynamic of Pathogens in MSK Pain - RCHM Webinar
- 2018 - Clinical observations in the traumatology department at China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
- 2017 - Treating Sports Injuries and Trauma with Chinese Herbal Medicine by Dr. Karl Zippelius
- 2015 - Explain Pain with Prof. Lorimer Moseley
- 2015 - Chinese Liniments Workshop
Microbiomes, the Gut-Brain Axis and Systems Biology
Most herbal medicines enter the body through the digestive system or the skin so I take a particular interest in these microbiomes and their affects on other systems in our body. These fields have undergone revolutions in recent years and yet their new models often bear remarkable similarity to the ancient ones: described as cultivating an invisible ecosystem. Chinese herbs are mostly prepared in water which readily dissolves the sugars that will then interact with particular species of our commensal bacteria.
Some recent activities include:
This is not limited to digestive disorders as changes to our microbial profiles have been linked to autoimmunity, metabolic syndromes, mood disorders and many of the health problems that have increased since the prolific use the antibiotics and refined sugars begun.
Classical Chinese Medicine
My interest in historical and ethnographic medicine has led me to study many of the classical systems of acupuncture and Chinese medicine mentioned in the original sources. These are simultaneously very practical, since Chinese medicine was the primary care system in ancient China developed by some of the finest minds in history, while also having a deeper spiritual connection to the Daoist roots of Chinese medicine which has often been lost in modernerised schools. Various historians, translators, practitioners and Daoist masters specialise in elucidating these texts for modern practitioners.
In particular I study the works and teachings of:
- Jeffrey Yuen: Daoist master of the Jade Purity and Complete Reality Dragon Gate schools.
- Heiner Freuhauf: Founding Professor of the College of Classical Chinese Medicine.
- Sabine Wilms: Translator of many ancient classics.
- Lorraine Wilcox: Translator and researcher of ancient methods of medicine preparation.
- Wang Juyi: Chinese medical practitioner that combined classical theory with modern clinical practice.
- Liu Lihong: Professor Emeritus of the Institute for the Clinical Research of Classical Chinese Medicine, Guangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Pharmacology.
- Guohui Liu: Scholar and medical practitioner with published translations and commentary of classical texts.
