UC Davis Health Wellness Academy | Office of Wellness Education | UC Davis Health

UC Davis wellness experts host free virtual education series

The newly formed Office of Wellness Education (OWE) in the UC Davis School of Medicine is focused on comprehensive wellness education across a broad and inclusive range of topics that affect wellbeing: physical health, emotional, societal, environmental, global concerns, and more. The creation of this unique program profoundly expands the educational scope of the school of medicine beyond the traditional focus on disease and its treatment.

As a first-of-its-kind office within the school of medicine, the OWE seeks to provide wellness education to our constituents – our patients, their families and their communities, our students, staff, and faculty, as well as the global community. As wellness poses personal choices for individuals, we view wellness education as focused on the pervasive questions and conversations about what is known and how experts grapple with choices that are available to each of us.

We intend to prioritize the broad interdisciplinary scholarly and professional community that is so prevalent across UC Davis and our region. With the aspiration to empower individuals to be able to make informed personalized choices about wellbeing, we will highlight the work of our scholars and create opportunities for them to convene thought-provoking discussions about topics that impact our daily lives.

Our educational offerings will include multiple modalities, including digital content ranging from engaging web-based stories, investigative reporting, and newsletters, to podcasts, webcasts, and consensus meetings. We will also include live programming with local and visiting scholars, clinicians, chefs, farmers, athletes, coaches, environmentalists, artists, wellness practitioners, and a wide array of other local and global contributors to the important conversations around well-being.

• Epigenetics and Wellness – Janine LaSalle, Ph.D.
• Peace in Chaos: Cultivating Wellness During Challenging Times – Ravi Prasad, Ph.D.
• Counteracting Misinformation About Wellness – Camelia Hostinar, Ph.D.
• Wellness As A Lifestyle – Gina Lokna, MD
• Gut Health and Wellness – Sean Adams, M.S., Ph.D.
• How Lighting Impacts Wellness – Michael Siminovitch, Ph.D.
• Science and Practice of Mindfulness and Compassion – Philippe Goldin, Ph.D.
• Animals and Wellness – Jamie Peyton, DVM, DACVECC, CVA, CVC, CCRT
• A Prescription For More Wellness and Less Medication – Heather Martin, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES
• Channeling Your Inner Athlete – Marcia Faustin, MD
• Brain Health and Wellness – Rachel Whitmer, Ph.D.
• Wellness Academy Food as Medicine Cooking Session: Crafting Nutrient Dense Sauces with Sky Hanka, M.S., N.B.C.-H.W.C.