Center for Integrative Nutrition Team

Gordon Saxe, MD, PhD, MPH

Executive Director, Center for Integrative Nutrition

Dr. Saxe, a Preventive Medicine physician and nutritional epidemiologist is the Co-Director of the CIM Natural Healing and Cooking program, the Course Director of the new UCSD online certificate program in Integrative Nutrition, and an international expert in the "food as medicine" movement. He also has a background in conducting whole food, plant-based dietary intervention research with cancer patients.

Lauray MacElhern, MBA

Co-Director, Center for Integrative Nutrition

Managing Director, Centers for Integrative Health

Lauray MacElhern has been cooking, studying, and experimenting with healing foods through her career working with physicians, dietitians and chefs to teach healing cooking classes at hospitals, cancer centers, universities, and academic health centers.  She is co-founder, teacher, and trainer of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Natural Healing & Cooking Program, co-developer of the UCSD Certificate in Integrative Nutrition: Food As Medicine, and Managing Director of the UCSD Center for Integrative Medicine.

Renée Lewis

Administrative Officer, Centers for Integrative Health

MBSR Teacher, Center for Mindfulness

Renée is currently the Project Manager for UC San Diego Centers for Integrative Health.  With education as her background, Renee is very interested in mindfulness for teens and adults alike.  In 2013, Renée was hired as the administrative coordinator for the Center for Mindfulness.  At this same time is when Renée attended her first MBSR and Natural Healing Cooking class.  Since then she has several of the cooking classes and attended the MBSR Teacher Training in 2015. Since then has been sharing mindfulness with women's groups, teens, and various health centers including Moore's Cancer center.

Kelli Grey-Meisner, RDN

Integrative Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

Kelli Gray-Meisner, RDN, has worked as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for 14 years in San Diego and is now working with the Centers for Integrative Health at UCSD.  She focuses on whole foods based nutrition assessment and education with all patients, meeting the patients where they are and assisting them to get where the want to be with their health.  Kelli has always been interested in integrative and functional medicine and promoting personalized nutrition as a foundational component for overall health.  Her particular area of interest is the digestive system and enjoys the complexity of the patients with whom she meets.

 

Tiffany Holt, MS, RDN

Integrative Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

Tiffany Holt is an integrative registered dietitian nutritionist and research dietitian. She is passionate about working with patients challenged by any conditions, but particularly enjoys exploring the use of whole-foods for healing or preventing disease. Tiffany has advanced nutrition experiences working with the UCSD Eating Disorders Center for Treatment and Research, Rip Esselstyn Immersion Training and Research program, and the Bastyr Center for Natural Health (BCNH). Tiffany is also a board member with the San Diego chapter of the California Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (CAND), a state affiliate of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND).

Jessica Matthews, DBH, MS, NBC-HWC

Director of Integrative Health Coaching

Dr. Matthews is assistant professor and program director of the Master of Kinesiology in Integrative Wellness program at Point Loma Nazarene University. An award-winning educator, she has developed and implemented graduate degree and professional certificate programs at several colleges in San Diego, in addition to creating and teaching a variety of graduate courses in areas such as integrative health and mind-body medicine. One of the first national board certified health and wellness coaches (NBC-HWC) in the country, Dr. Matthews serves as chair of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) health coaches member interest group and is senior advisor for behavioral health coaching for the American Council on Exercise (ACE), serving as lead author and editor of The Professional's Guide to Health and Wellness Coaching (2019).

Daisy Cruz

Staff Research Associate

Daisy Cruz received her degree in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Daisy has been employed at UCSD for over 7 years and has filled roles both as a research associate and administrative assistant. Daisy has played crucial roles in various research projects in the UCSD Division of Global Public Health and Division of Family Medicine and Public Health. Some of her key responsibilities have focused on preparing materials for UCSD Human Research Protections Program (HRPP) review, recruiting subjects for several research projects, collecting data, and preparing materials for submission to granting agencies and foundations. In the past year, Daisy was able to receive valuable training to serve as a phone health coach for a project that aimed at reducing heart attacks and strokes in San Diego County.

 

Serena Silberman HHP, LMT

Australian Naturopath & Women's Health Specialist

Adam Silberman, NMD, MBA

Naturopathic Medical Doctor & Integrative Health Specialist

Serena and Adam share a passion for educating people about nutrition and lifestyle strategies to optimize health and wellbeing. They have been involved in teaching the UCSD Natural Healing Cooking Classes since 2012. As a husband and wife naturopathic team, they share the same techniques and tools they use in their own home to prioritize healthy living with their students. They grow food in their small garden, shop at a local farm where the farmers knows their son's names, and prioritize home cooked meals as the foundation of health in their family. They love teaching the natural healing cooking classes as the curriculum blends scientific evidence with multi-cultural knowledge, educating students on how to make not just healthy foods, but healing foods. Serena and Adam light up when they talk about the magical healing that has happened when people are guided to the right foods for their body and are truly honored to be able to share their knowledge with the world through the Natural Healing Cooking Classes.

Lisa Kallenberg, MD

Culinary Instructor

Lisa Kallenberg MD is a residency-trained neurologist, formerly in private practice in the metropolitan Washington DC area. Having seen first-hand the ravages of chronic disease in her patients and personally experienced the health benefits of a largely-plant-based diet for many years, she has become a passionate advocate for nutrition education within the medical community, the culinary professions, and the general population at all age levels.

 

Brook Le'amohala

Culinary Instructor

Brook Le'amohala is a seasoned culinary instructor trained in plant based food preparation by industry experts and is an internationally recognized certified integral hatha yoga teacher. For over 10 years she has specialized in the art of food as medicine including founding and operating Heaven's Kitchen, a personal chef and health coaching business for clients following medically restricted diets, The Optimum Living Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching the benefits of a whole food plant based diet and sustainable lifestyle, and co-author of the vegan cookbook, Incredibly Delicious - Recipes for a New Paradigm. Brook also founded Mama Earth Café, which offered catering services to events such as weddings, celebrations, yoga retreats, and festivals. Through her specialized focus on vegan and raw organic food based recipes she has helped many people battling various chronic diseases.