Arti Prasad MD, Center for Life's founding Executive Director, is also the founding Section Chief of Integrative Medicine at the University of New Mexico's Health Science Center (UNM HSC). This section was created to develop a comprehensive primary health care system based on an integrative approach that combines allopathic medical care with Complementary and Alternative medicine (CAM) using the best current evidence. Under her able leadership, UNM SOM is now a member of the national Consortium of the Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine (CAHCIM).
Dr Prasad is also Professor and Vice Chair for Advancement in the Department of Internal Medicine. She holds an adjunct clinical professorship at the Program in Integrative Medicine, University of Arizona. She graduated in November 2003 from its Associate Fellowship Program under the direction of Dr. Andrew Weil. Dr. Prasad grew up in India, has a lifetime of experience with Natural and Ayurvedic medicine, and encourages her patients to use yoga, relaxation, and other proven complementary therapies to treat their chronic conditions.
Dr. Prasad has demonstrated excellent leadership skills at UNM SOM, which in part resulted in her being nominated and accepted into the prestigious Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program for Women. She graduated from this program in April 2005. ELAM is the nation's only in-depth program focused on preparing senior women faculty at schools of medicine and dentistry to move into positions of institutional leadership where they can effect positive change.
She has received high recognition by her peers during her medical career, including the Dean's Award of Distinction for Outstanding Faculty Performance; the Winner of the Clinical Vignette Competition at an Annual Meeting of the New Mexico Chapter of the ACP; and Certificates of Appreciation for services rendered at an Eye Camp and for services rendered during the Union Carbide Gas Leakage Tragedy, both in India. She has been listed among the top 100 doctors of Albuquerque, by the Albuquerque magazine both in years 2006, 2007 and 2009. Dr. Prasad was recently selected to be the "winner alternate" for the inaugural "2007 Paul Bartlett Re Peace Prize" at UNM.
Dr. Prasad is involved in teaching all phases of medical education, in faculty development and CME at the UNM School of Medicine, and in community education. She tutors in many different blocks, gives lectures, seminars, invited talks, and Grand Rounds. She organizes and Chairs a Biennial Symposium of Integrative Medical Professionals in the Land of Enchantment (SIMPLE). This event is a huge step forward for the University of New Mexico School of Medicine because it features national speakers and attracts audience from all around the country. Dr. Prasad has been invited by neighboring states to speak on Integrative Medicine. She is one of the faculty sponsor of the Integrative Health Group (a chapter of AMSA) and the Chair of Integrative Medicine Task Force, which develops and recommends curriculum for integrative medicine education at the medical school.
As part of Dr. Prasad's community outreach, she serves on the medical advisory board of the "Cancer Services of NM" and volunteers her time twice a year for the Family Cancer Retreat. She consults for an organization "CAPPED" in Alamogordo NM and gives public service lectures to "People Living through Cancer," "Lymphoma and Leukemia Society," and other non-profit organizations. She did voluntary consulting work for the new Integrative Medicine Center at the Vanderbilt Medical School that opened last fall.
Not only is she an excellent physician and educator, but she is also involved in conducting clinical trials, mentoring medical students in research projects related to integrative medicine, and writing research proposals. As a co-investigator, she completed a CDC-funded project investigating the use of CAM therapies in patients with chronic rheumatological disorders in NM. She is appointed as the Director of Integrative Cancer Programs at the Cancer Research and Treatment Center (CRTC) and received funding by American Cancer Society to perform "Integrative Medicine Needs Assessment at UNM Cancer Research & Treatment Center." She served a member of the executive board of the "Primary Care Research Collaborative (PCRC) at UNM from 2001 - 2003, and now is a member of RIOS (Research in Outpatient Setting) Net. She received a grant from PCRC to conduct a UNM SOM faculty survey regarding the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and personal use of CAM. She was the PI on the grant "Access to Health Care through the Door of Recovery" funded by the La Tierra Sagrada Society, UNM SOM in 2006-2007.
Dr. Prasad serves on the New Mexico Pain Initiative, The Arthritis Advisory Council of DOH-NM, and medical advisory board of the Cancer Services of NM; is an active member of many national societies such as Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) and American College of Physicians (ACP).
