Are you interested in learning more about the Symposium presenters? Please review below for more information about our 2026 faculty.
Symposium Faculty
Symposium Information
Seetal Preet K. Cheema, MD
With an eagerness to learn, interest in the sciences and compassion for humanity, Dr. Seetal Cheema attended the University of Miami School of Medicine, New York University, and Harvard Medical School. After mastering studies in Western medicine and attaining board certifications in anesthesia and pain management, she ventured to study healing practices from the East, and completed further education in acupuncture, yoga, mindfulness meditation, and aromatherapy. By combining knowledge from these multiple disciplines, she has learned to provide a safe environment for her patients to heal emotionally and physically in situations of acute care, as well as chronic conditions. She currently works at UCLA and the VA, collaborating with the departments of Anesthesia and Integrative Medicine.
Dr. Cheema is a Sikh practicing a Buddhist way of life, born in NY, with heritage from Punjab, India, and East Africa. She enjoys being a mother, cooking with spices, riding her bike, listening to opera, and making memories with her good company. She has traveled extensively, for leisure to the Great Wall of China and the Amazon, as well as for health care work to Dominica, El Salvador and India. She has had a personal practice of yoga and meditation for over fifteen years.
Stephanie Cheng, MD, FAAMA
Dr. Stephanie Cheng completed her Anesthesiology Residency at Yale University and her fellowship in Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Management at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS). In addition to her clinical practice in regional anesthesiology, she is a board-certified medical acupuncturist and serves as the Director of the Perioperative Integrative Medicine Program at HSS. In this role, she has successfully integrated medical acupuncture into multimodal strategies for postoperative pain control.
Dr. Cheng was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture and has been featured by Health.com for her work in perioperative acupuncture, which lead to HSS receiving the Innovative Hospital Award in 2023. A dedicated educator, she is a five-time recipient of Cornell’s Teacher of the Year Award and most recently, the 2025 ASRA Excellence in Education Award.
Her academic and clinical interests focus on perioperative optimization for orthopedic surgery patients, with an emphasis on incorporating non-pharmacologic and novel modalities to improve surgical outcomes. She is also deeply committed to medical education, particularly in advancing awareness and training in intraoperative acupuncture. She is the creator of the CHENG Certificate, a CME-accredited program designed to educate intraoperative providers in the principles and practice of perioperative acupuncture.
Peter Dorsher, MD
Dr. Peter Dorsher has been an AAMA member since completing the UCLA/HMI (Dr Joseph Helms’) training program in 1998. After completing a master’s degree in biomedical engineering at Northwestern University, he pursued a medical degree and trained in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Mayo Clinic Rochester, and subsequently joined the staff there before transferring to its Florida branch, where he practiced for 25 years including serving as chairperson of his department before retiring in 2020. His primary clinical interests have been in chronic pain syndromes and neurologic disorders. He has 35+ years’ experience in treating myofascial pain syndrome, over 25 years’ experience using medical acupuncture, and more than 15 years’ experience in use of low-level laser therapy for pain conditions. He has presented at over 200 national and international meetings on these topics; has over 85 publications including 43 peer reviewed articles in acupuncture and allopathic journals (including Journal of Pain and Nature Precedings); and has won multiple research awards from the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture. He is now focusing on research and education, compiling over 30 years of data and publications to explore acupuncture’s mechanisms and its fundamental overlaps with the myofascial pain syndrome and myofascial meridian traditions. A trigger point – Classical acupuncture point APP and a hybrid evidence-based acupuncture and myofascial pain educational venture are now in production.
Mitchell Elkiss, DO, FAAMA
Michell Elkiss, DO, FAAMA has had a 40-year private practice of Integrative Neurology; is Board certified in Neurology, Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, and Medical Acupuncture. He is currently a preceptor of the Helms Medical Institute.
Leora Esterra, MD, MAc, DiplAc, DABMA
Dr. Esterra is a physician and acupuncturist with advanced training in acupuncture and Classical Chinese medicine. She received her BS in Biology from Columbia University and her MD from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, followed by an internship in General Surgery in Stamford, CT, and residency and fellowship training in Radiology at Montefiore Einstein, where she served as Chief Resident. She completed medical acupuncture training through the Helms Medical Institute and holds a Master’s degree in Acupuncture from the Academy for Five Element Acupuncture. She is board certified in acupuncture by both the ABMA and NCBAHM. She has completed advanced studies and apprenticeships in acupuncture and Chinese medicine, including the complete channel system of Classical Acupuncture and comprehensive training in Neuroacupuncture and Neuro-Meridian Integrative Acupuncture. Her practice focuses on holistic patient care through a Classical approach informed by modern neuroscience.
Teresa Esterle, MD, PhD, DABMA
Dr. Esterle joined Alliance Integrative Medicine in 2017, after 17 years in practice as a board-certified pediatrician on Cincinnati’s West Side. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, she received her medical degree from Vanderbilt University and completed her pediatric residency training at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where she served as chief resident. She has completed an Integrative Medicine Fellowship through the Arizona Center of Integrative Medicine, received acupuncture training through the UCLA’s Helms Medical Institute, and passed her board-certification exam. Dr. Esterle has completed functional medicine training as a fellow in AIM’s Integrative Medicine Physician of Excellence program and received her certification from the Institute for Functional Medicine.
Dr. Teresa is a lifelong learner and is the Associate Medical Director of the IMPOE Fellowship offered through the Integrative Medicine Foundation in collaboration with AIM.
Michael Freedman, MD, FAAMA
Dr. Michael Freedman is a graduate of Baylor College of Medicine in 1981 where he also completed a Neurology residency program in 1986. He served as a United States Navy Reserve Medical Officer from 2003-2018; during most of those years he was attached to the 4th Marine Division. Dr. Freedman completed the HMI course in 2015 and is a Diplomat of the American Board of Medical Acupuncture and a Fellow of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture. Currently he is employed by the VA at the Greenville NC VA Health Care Center.
Tate Kauffman, MD, FAAMA
Dr. Kauffman is Family Medicine trained and has practiced in primary care, wound care/hyperbaric medicine, and urgent care settings. Prior to medical school, he worked in developmental genetics research. He received his acupuncture training through HMI.
He operates a private medical acupuncture practice in Newville, Pennsylvania and teaches with HMI, ACUS foundation, and in the AAMA Review and Core Refresher courses.
Francisco Lozano, MD, PhD
Dr. Lozano is a Professor of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture, and Moxibustion at the School of Medicine and Homeopathy of the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) in Mexico City. He pursued formal training in Chinese Medicine at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (1982–1984) and later continued advanced clinical studies in Japan at Osaka Medical College (1985–1987). He earned his doctoral degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine from the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.
Dr. Lozano has a long-standing professional interest in the integration of Western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine and has devoted more than 45 years to the study, teaching, and clinical practice of traditional Chinese medicine, medical acupuncture and related specialized techniques.
He is a former President of the Mexican College of Human Acupuncture (COMAH) and the Iberian–Latin American Federation of Medical Acupuncture Societies (FILASMA). He currently serves as a Board Member of the International Council of Medical Acupuncture and Related Techniques (ICMART), acting as Director-at-Large for Latin America and North America.
Michael O’Connell
Michael “Moe” O’Connell is a second-year medical student at West Virginia University with a blossoming passion for acupuncture. He earned his BA in Mathematics from the University of South Florida after which he spent the next 10 years serving in the United States Navy. Working as a special operations corpsman, Moe learned the value that acupuncture can have in operational medicine. Hoping to further his knowledge and skills by becoming a physician, Moe hopes to bring acupuncture more into the fold of military medicine to enhance mission readiness and success. He has conducted research in acupuncture and anatomic sciences.
Moe has a commitment to both teaching and leading by example. He is currently Vice President of his medical school class and President of the WVU Wilderness Medicine Interest Group. Moe is a member of WVU’s Culinary and Lifestyle Medicine track where he is at the forefront of medical education reform to enhance lifestyle medicine learning outcomes for medical students. He regularly volunteers for the local WVU ROTC Division instructing the cadets in Tactical Combat Casualty Care and Leadership skills. Moe and his wife Kaitlyn enjoy taking care of their dog Merlin and all manner of outdoor activities.
Jason Oreskovich, DO, FAAMA
Dr. Oreskovich is a family physician with a diverse clinical and educational focus, practicing full-spectrum family medicine alongside medical acupuncture. With a commitment to whole-person care, he integrates traditional medical approaches with evidence-informed acupuncture to support patient wellness and chronic disease management. In addition to clinical practice, Dr. Oreskovich serves as an MS3 Clerkship Director, where he is passionate about mentoring medical students, fostering clinical skills, and shaping the next generation of physicians through thoughtful, hands-on education.
Lee Robertson, DO
Dr. Robertson has been a manual therapist for over thirty years. He currently maintains an active practice as a board-certified physiatrist primarily treating musculoskeletal conditions with osteopathic manipulation and medical acupuncture. Dr Robertson is also an adjunct clinical professor with Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Kendra Unger, MD, FAAMA
Dr. Unger is a family physician in Morgantown, West Virginia, who practices full-spectrum family medicine alongside medical acupuncture, with a focus on integrative, patient-centered care. She serves as Vice Chair of Education for the Department of Family Medicine, where she leads educational initiatives and is dedicated to training and mentoring future physicians. Dr. Unger is a past president of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (AAMA), reflecting her national leadership and commitment to advancing the field of medical acupuncture.
Massarat Zutshi, MD, DABMA
Dr. Massarat Zutshi is a retired colorectal surgeon who practiced as a Staff Surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio. During her tenure, she built a distinguished clinical, academic, and research career focused on colorectal and pelvic floor disorders.
In addition to her surgical practice, Dr. Zutshi completed the Helms Medical Acupuncture Course in 2017 and earned Diplomate status with the American Board of Medical Acupuncture (DABMA) in 2019. She integrated acupuncture into patient care at the Cleveland Clinic, treating gastrointestinal conditions and pain related to gastrointestinal dysfunction, both for her own patients and through faculty referrals.
Dr. Zutshi was also an accomplished researcher and was the primary investigator of a laboratory investigating the use of stem cells and cytokines in the treatment of bowel incontinence. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications addressing both clinical and laboratory-based research and has served as a primary investigator on multiple clinical trials involving pelvic floor disorders and rectal cancer.
After retiring from full-time practice, Dr. Zutshi established a part-time private practice in 2023, where she continues to provide acupuncture care for patients referred by Cleveland Clinic faculty and other healthcare practitioners.