THE CENTER

Evolving And Growing Legacy

This has been a momentous year for the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine (Center). At the same time that our educational programming was evolving and growing, construction began on our new three-building Center complex in the heart of UArizona medical campus. It’s an exciting time to work concurrently on these two foundations that are creating the Center’s legacy.

We have expanded our Foundational Fellowship Curriculum (FFC) partnerships. In fall 2022 Maharishi International University (MIU) began offering the Center’s FFC as the core of their Fellowship in Integrative Medicine with an emphasis on Ayurvedic Medicine. And the Center partnered with the oncology fellowships at the UArizona and the Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale to create and offer a Fellowship program in Integrative Medicine Hematology Oncology (IMHO). The first five IMHO Fellows enrolled this year.

Medical student training grew as well. The Integrative Medicine Distinction Tract (IMDT) program, a four-year commitment for medical students had 76 graduates and is now licensed to the University of California–Irvine. At the same time, Integrative Medicine Elective Rotation (IMER) for fourthyear students and residents reached almost 600 alumni.

Equally encouraging is the response to our programming for the public. Our Body of Wonder podcast offers conversations with Integrative Medicine (IM) experts from diverse fields. The show averages 10,000 listeners per month.

Innovation has enabled us to grow professional development as well. For the 2022 Integrative Medicine in Residency Faculty Development Meeting held in Tucson, we initiated a dual option of in-person and virtual. The theme of Wellbeing set the perfect tone for these faculty that represent 109 institutions globally and almost 3,000 residents.

We also organized hybrid residential weeks for the Fellows, with in-person and virtual options. The combined residential events served more than 250 Fellows. Additionally, 2,200 healthcare professionals attended our 2022 Integrative Medicine Summit.

A new partnership with the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation (AHNCC) will enlarge the Center’s Integrative Health & Lifestyle Program (IHeLp) enrollment and provide training and professional development opportunities. Nurses who have completed IHeLp will be able to sit for the AHNCC certification exam.

And most gratifying is an innovative partnership with the UArizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Arizona Experiment Station. We’ve launched an initiative to better understand the role food plays in inflammation and healthy immune responses. This leading-edge research has the potential to influence resilience, self-care, and optimal health and wellbeing.

What a wonderful year! Our Center Family continues to flourish and to build toward legacy. We are grateful to you for the support that helped make all this possible!