Healing from the Roof of the World: An Introduction to Tibetan Medicine

Come learn about a fascinating healing tradition from two prominent scholars and practitioners of Tibetan medicine.

Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP to sarah_rhodes@med.unc.edu.

Dr. Lhusham Gyal is Dean and Professor at the Quinghai University Tibetan Medical College. He is an expert in Tibetan Psychology. He received his Tibetan medical training through many senior teachers throughout eastern and central Tibet, and also obtained bachelor and master degrees in Medical Studies from Tibet University in Lhasa, Tibet. One of the most renowned Tibetan medical doctors in Tibet today, Dr. Gyal has received particular recognition for his book A Systematic Analysis of Tibetan Medical Psychology (2004). He is the author of numerous articles and books, and is the associate editor-in-chief for the textbook series Curricula of National Tibetan Medical University Majors. An inspiration in the classroom, Dr. Gyal has received awards and recognition for his teaching from domestic and international bodies.

Dr. Kunchok Gyaltsen is a Tibetan physician and Tibetan Buddhist monk and has a Ph.D. in Public Health from UCLA. He also holds masters degrees in Primary Health Care Management from ASEAN Institute for Health Development at Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, and in International and Intercultural Management from the School for International Training in Vermont.

In 2003, he facilitated the opening of Kumbum Tibetan Medical Hospital's first branch clinic in Beijing, China, and has since opened an outpatient clinic in Shenyang City (eastern China) and a small hospital near Xianyang (western China). Kumbum Tibetan Medical Hospital is currently the largest facility of its kind, reputed for its quality care, professionalism, and pharmaceutical expertise. He is also founder of Tibetan Healing Fund, a non-profit organization with offices in both Amdo Province and Seattle, Washington. The mission of the Tibetan Healing Fund is to provide basic education and primary health care to rural Tibetan women and children. Today, a growing number of isolated and impoverished women and children in the Tibetan regions of northeastern China are served by Tibetan Healing Fund projects, which include bilingual and bicultural education, community midwife training, and health education and outreach. In July 2009, the Tibetan Healing Fund opened the first Tibetan Birth Center for rural Tibetan women in Ma-lho Tibetan Prefecture in western China.

This event is sponsored by the AMSA Subcommittee on Alterative and Complementary Medicine, UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine.