The USF College of Pharmacy’s Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences recently held a “Symposium on Chinese Medicine: When the East Meet the West,” which was hosted by Professor Shufeng Zhou, MD, PhD.

The June 19 symposium provided an opportunity to showcase the talent of the department’s faculty, visitors, and postgraduates and promoted interprofessional dialogues on the principle, application and safety of Chinese medicine across our university community.

Keynote speaker Ruan Jin Zhao, PhD, OMD, president and CEO, Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Sarasota, FL

The event’s highlight was keynote speaker, Ruan Jin Zhao, PhD, OMD, president and chief executive officer of the Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine in Sarasota, FL.  His presentation emphasized the importance of wei qi (the immune system) in cancer treatment and how Chinese medicine can play an important role in immune activation.

Eight speakers spoke about the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicines on hypertension, liver toxicity, cancer, Alzheimer’s and many other diseases.

More than 60 faculty members, students, and community members attended the symposium, demonstrating campus-wide interest in Chinese medicine and its broad range of common concepts that have been developed in China. Chinese medicine originated in ancient China and has evolved over thousands of years.

Practitioners of Chinese medicine use herbal medicines and mind and body practices, such as acupuncture and tai chi, to treat or prevent health problems. Future symposiums on Chinese medicine will be announced on the USF Health Bulletin list-serv.

R to L: Feng Cheng, PhD; Jiazhi Sun, MD; Jing Liu; Yashwant Pathak, PhD; Ruan Jin Zhao, PhD, OMD; and Shufeng Zhou, MD, PhD.

Story by Tommy Rogers, College of Pharmacy