Symposium Faculty

Joseph Audette, MD, MA

Dr. Joseph Audette is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School and Chief of Pain Management at Atrius Health and Harvard Vanguard. His research on acupuncture for the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome has been sponsored by the NIH and was mentioned as a seminal study by the New York Times. He is an internationally recognized investigator in acupuncture winning the ICMART Science Award (The International Council of Medical Acupuncture and Related Techniques) for the most influential study on acupuncture in 2017. He is also an expert in pain and has been interviewed on this subject by Fox News and NPR. While completing his residency at Columbia University, he attended the Tristate Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine in New York. Dr. Audette is a recognized authority in dry needling techniques for the treatment of pain and point verification methods of acupuncture, and is the Vice President of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (AAMA). He has been teaching the Kiiko style of acupuncture for over 20 years.

Nancy Ann Cotter, MD

Nancy Ann Cotter, MD is the Director of the VA New Jersey Whole Health Flagship, VISN2 Whole Health Sponsor, and serves as an Education Champion as well as a Clinical Champion for the Integrative Health Coordinating Center, VA Office of Patient Centered Care. Dr Cotter is a graduate of McGill University, SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine, and Baylor College of Medicine. She is board- certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Integrative Medicine, and Medical Acupuncture, and holds certifications in Medical Acupuncture, in Functional Medicine, and as a Clinical Nutrition Specialist (CNS). Dr Cotter is graduate of the inaugural class of the Leadership Program in Integrative Healthcare at Duke University. She is an Assistant Clinical Professor of PMR at Rutgers/ New Jersey Medical School, and taught acupuncture to other physicians for 15 years with the Helms Medical Institute.  She uses nutrition, acupuncture, herbal medicine and lifestyle modification as first line tools in her practice. Dr Cotter was the founding Medical Director of the Integrative Medicine Program at Atlantic Health in New Jersey, and currently leads teams in Integrative Medicine and Integrative Pain Management for VA New Jersey. Dr Cotter has authored multiple publications in Integrative Medicine. Her clinical expertise is in helping patients with chronic conditions find balance and vitality in their lives by accessing and enhancing their own healing potential. Her programmatic expertise is in bringing Integrative Medicine and cultural change to institutions.

Jennifer Dilts, DO, FAAMA

Dr. Jennifer Dilts is board-certified in pediatrics, medical acupuncture, and headache medicine. She is a pediatrician and medical acupuncturist at Bloom Pediatrics in Kansas City. Prior to her transition to private practice in 2023, she was an academic pediatrician and associate professor of pediatrics at Children’s Mercy Hospital for 15 years. Her acupuncture care focused primarily on pediatric headache patients while at Children’s Mercy, and Dr. Dilts now enjoys providing acupuncture for a variety of medical conditions for both kids and adults in her private practice. She received her acupuncture training through the Helms Medical Institute. While at Children’s Mercy she developed a 10-hour “basic acupuncture” course to teach colleagues 2 acupuncture procedures. Over 30 pediatricians completed the course, and the development, implementation, and assessment of this course was published in the journal “Academic Pediatrics”.

Dr. Dilts has served on the AAMA symposium planning committee for the past 6 years. She served as vice chair symposium chair in 2022, symposium chair in 2023, and is currently symposium co-chair with Dr. Stephanie Cheng. Additionally, she is a member of the AAMA board of directors, elected in 2023.

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, nearly 25 years’ experience using medical acupuncture, and over 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 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

Dr. Mitchell Elkiss 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.

Celia Hildebrand, DAOM, LAc

Celia Hildebrand, DAOM, LAc has worked in the field of health care delivery for almost 40 years, the last 25 spent in clinical practice and developing health care services, public health programs and facilities with American Indian tribes of the Southwestern USA. She earned both a Master (2002) and clinical Doctorate (2015) in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, with focused study and clinical practice in trauma, cardiovascular recovery & rehabilitation, and community health. In 2019 Dr. Hildebrand was awarded a Fulbright to teach acupuncture for pain, PTSD, and trauma in western Ukraine. She is on faculty with the University of Arizona – Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, maintained a private clinic (Tucson) for years and is currently practicing within the Veterans’ Administration in Wilmington, DE. Dr. Hildebrand maintains a deep appreciation for the Quixotic quest of tilting at windmills, bridging cultural divides, and exploring peace.

Tate Kauffman, MD, DABMA

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.

Nick Kouchis, MD

Dr. Nick Kouchis is a Family Physician and Medical Acupuncturist. He treats patients in an effective, efficient, and friendly manner in his solo practice in Woodridge, IL, a suburb of Chicago. Dr. Kouchis loves to teach and has been a preceptor for Medical Acupuncture for over 15 years.

“Adding Medical Acupuncture to my Family Medicine practice has strengthened my diagnostic skills to develop a more comprehensive understanding of a patient’s health condition and the impact on their life. It has provided my patients the ability to be treated effectively without solely the use of medications and has inspired a passion in teaching for me and learning for our physician students that can overall improve the humanistic qualities of medicine.”

Helene Langevin, MD

Helene M. Langevin, MD, is director of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

As NCCIH director, Dr. Langevin oversees the U.S. Federal government’s lead agency for research on the fundamental science, usefulness, and safety of complementary and integrative health approaches and their roles in improving health and health care.

Prior to coming to NIH in 2018, Dr. Langevin was the Director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, jointly based at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and professor-in-residence of medicine at Harvard Medical School from 2012 to 2018. She also previously served as professor of neurological sciences at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont.

Over her career, Dr. Langevin’s research interests have centered around the role of connective tissue in chronic musculoskeletal pain and the mechanisms of acupuncture, manual, and movement-based therapies. Her more recent work has focused on the effects of stretching on inflammation resolution mechanisms within connective tissue. She is a fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Langevin received an M.D. degree from McGill University, Montreal. She completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in neurochemistry at the MRC Neurochemical Pharmacology Unit in Cambridge, England, and a residency in internal medicine and fellowship in endocrinology and metabolism at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.

Maya Myslenski, MD, DABMA

Medical School: Silesian Medical School, Katowice, Poland
Internship: MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
Pediatric Residency:  MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
Board Certification in Pediatrics
Attending Physician: Department of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
Acupuncture Training: Helms Medical Institute Physician Acupuncture Course
Board Certification in Medical Acupuncture
Medical Director of Medical Acupuncture Clinic, Pain and Healing Center, MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
Helms Medical Institute Preceptor
Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve University Medical School

Juli Olson, DC, DACM, FAIHM

Juli Olson holds doctoral degrees in Chiropractic from the Southern California University of Health Sciences, and Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine from Pacific College of Health and Science. She is fellowship trained in Integrative Medicine by the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine. She provides direct patient care in the Pain Clinic at the VA Central Iowa, serves as a Clinical Champion for the Integrative Health Coordinating center, and is the National Lead for Acupuncture in the Veterans Health Administration. Dr. Olson teaches at the Pacific College of Health Sciences and is Adjunct Faculty at Palmer College of Chiropractic for whom she is a Residency Attending in the VA Chiropractic Residency Program.

Young Ki Park, DO

Dr. Young Ki Park is a board-certified family physician who has been practicing integrative medicine in Indianapolis area since 1997.  He graduated from Des Moines Osteopathic University in 1990 and completed his residency at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown, Ohio.  He is currently acting as a clinical medical director of Integrative Medicine at Community Health Network in Indianapolis.  Dr. Park incorporates different medical modalities including conventional western medicine, eastern Asian medicine, osteopathic manipulative therapy, and functional medicine.  He is an assistant professor at Marion Osteopathic University in Indianapolis.  He is an author of Modern and Ancient Cupping Therapy and A Textbook of Integrative Medicine.

Donna Pittman, MD, FAAMA

Dr. Donna Pittman is a board-certified physician in family medicine. She is a senior preceptor with Helms Medical Institute and was assistant administrator of the Medical Acupuncture for Physicians course. She currently serves as president of the AAMA and is on the legislative and membership committees.

Chi-Tsai Tang, MD, FAAMA

Chi Tang, MD, FAAMA is an associate professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He received his undergraduate degree from Duke University where he majored in biomedical engineering, and his medical degree from the University of North Carolina. He completed his residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at the University of Michigan, and a subsequent year of fellowship training in PM&R Sports Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Tang has clinical expertise in medical acupuncture, and is a graduate of the Helms Medical Institute course in 2009.  In 2015, he did a travelling fellowship to the 301 Peoples Liberation Army General Hospital in Beijing, China to further his acupuncture studies, and since then has received further extensive training.  He has given numerous lectures locally, nationally, and internationally on acupuncture. Dr. Tang’s current clinical practice involves 2 full days of acupuncture where a majority of the patients are self-pay. Dr. Tang also has clinical expertise in musculoskeletal ultrasound, fluoroscopic guided pain management injections, and platelet rich plasma injections. He evaluates and treats all musculoskeletal injuries using various non-operative techniques.

Lisa Taylor-Swanson, PhD, MAcOM, LAc

Dr. Lisa Taylor-Swanson is a dedicated women’s health researcher, nursing scientist, and acupuncturist who is passionately committed to improving women’s health during the menopausal transition by ensuring equitable access to high-quality healthcare that integrates evidence-based biomedical and integrative healthcare approaches. As an Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing (CON) at the University of Utah (UU), Dr. Taylor-Swanson’s pioneering research has developed MENOGAP, which is designed to fill a GAP in MENOpausal women’s healthcare. She is currently collaborating with interdisciplinary teams to adapt MENOGAP for Hispanic/Latina women and for American Indian/Alaska Native women to adapt MENOGAP to their unique needs.

Recognized for her dedication to interdisciplinary research, Dr. Taylor-Swanson received the Excellence in University Health Partnership Award from CON and earned a nomination to the Society for Acupuncture Research board of directors. She was most recently selected as the recipient of the UU’s 2023 Leadership in Inclusive Excellence Awards: Faculty. Her tireless efforts drive positive change in women’s health and promote diversity and inclusivity within healthcare.

Kendra Unger, MD, FAAMA

Dr. Kendra Unger is an Associate Professor with the Department of Family Medicine in Morgantown, WV. She is a full-time faculty member and is the MS3 Medical Student Co-Clerkship Director. Dr. Unger is a Board Certified Family Physician and holds her board certification in Medical Acupuncture through the American Board of Medical Acupuncture. She practices Integrative medicine through her use of Medical Acupuncture as an adjunct therapy for patients with chronic pain and other medical conditions. In the spring of 2019, she was elected to serve as a board member for the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (AAMA), which is the national organization representing physician acupuncturists. Because of her clinical work using acupuncture and due to her teaching efforts in this field, she was named a fellow of the AAMA and continues to serve the patients of West Virginia.