Complementary and Integrative Medicine

Executive members

Dr. Esther Konigsberg, MD, CCFP, chair

As chair, my passion is to forward the visibility and credibility of integrative medicine in Ontario and Canada by advocating recognition of integrative medicine through our two colleges, the CFPC and RCPSC.

I have an integrative medicine consulting practice in Toronto. I graduated from the fellowship program in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona in 2003. I hold an assistant clinical professor position at the University of Arizona in the program in integrative medicine, where I have lectured, contributed to modules and review fellows’ treatment plans.

At McMaster Medical School, I am an assistant clinical professor, as well as McMaster’s representative for the Canadian Academic Consortium on Integrative Health and Education. I am McMaster’s representative for the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health and the chair of the Integrative Medicine Fellowship Recognition Committee for the American Board of Integrative Medicine.

Dr. Fred Hui, MD, CCFP, vice-chair

I have practiced integrative medicine for the last 42 years. The integrative modalities I use include acupuncture, orthopedic medicine, joint manipulation therapy, PRP, neurotherapy, prolotherapy, chelation and other intravenous therapies, ozone therapy, bio-identical hormones, Eastern and Western natural supplements and herbs, functional medicine.

I am the past president of the Acupuncture Foundation of Canada. I hold an Advanced Certificate from the American Board of Chelation Therapy. On sabbatical, I studied Chinese medicine and acupuncture at the Beijing Hospital of Chinese Medicine.

I don’t “like" the practice of medicine, I “love” the practice of medicine.

Dr. Adrienne Junek, MD, CCFP, ABOIM, secretary

Inspired by the illness of a close family member, I grew interested in integrative and functional medicine to better understand the variety of therapies that can be used to restore health. After completing my undergraduate and graduate medical training, I enrolled in Dr. Andrew Weil’s fellowship in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona (graduate 2017) and became board-certified in integrative medicine through the American Board of Physician Specialties in 2018. To further expand my knowledge base, prompted by patient demand, I went on to become a functional medicine certified practitioner (IFMCP, 2021). After several years of working in the emergency room during my integrative medicine training, I retired from shift work to focus on my second passion musculoskeletal medicine. I trained in providing trigger point injections and neurofunctional acupuncture (McMaster contemporary acupuncture), both of which have transformed the way I view the musculoskeletal system and its related injuries.

At present, I work as an integrative and functional medicine consultant and at an interdisciplinary musculoskeletal clinic in Ottawa, Ont. I also teach integrative medicine for the University of Ottawa undergraduate medical curriculum and supervise an interdisciplinary interprofessional elective for fourth-year students. I am passionate about integrative and functional medicine and am pleased to work with the OMA CIM MIG to advocate for the official recognition and certification of integrative medicine physicians.

Dr. Elliot Jacobson, MD CCFP (EM), ABOIM, treasurer  

Dr. Jacobson completed his Medical Degree at the University of Alberta in 1999, followed by a residency in Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine (CCFP-EM) at McGill in 2002. He is board-certified in integrative medicine through the American Board of Integrative Medicine (ABOIM) and has completed all certification requirements with the Institute of Functional Medicine. In 2010, after almost a decade of emergency medicine practice, he started practicing integrative medicine. Today, he is the medical director and co-founder of Venn Med, where he uses a functional medicine approach to address the root causes of chronic illness.

He is also a certified yoga instructor, who endeavours to bring mindfulness into his daily life and to each patient encounter. At Venn Med, Dr. Jacobson’s passion is collaborating with the rest of his team to improve outcomes for patients suffering from chronic illness while accompanying them on their journey back to health.

Dr. Richard Nahas, MD CCFP, DCAPM, past chair

I am committed to supporting the shift to more integrative health care. I spent four years as an ER physician, working in remote rural outposts and academic teaching hospitals across Canada. Having an early interest in global health led to medical missions in the Middle East, Africa and Central America. It was during the SARS outbreak of 2003, while treating people with the disease, that I realized the need for more integrative health care.

I then spent two years backpacking in 30 countries, studying the traditional healing systems of the world. I worked with traditional healers from many different traditions and identified important ideas and principles that were missing from modern medicine. With a renewed calling, I returned to Ottawa and established the Seekers Centre.

Since 2006, I have worked to promote evidence-based integrative medicine. I have contributed to curriculum development, peer-reviewed journals and textbooks, national guidelines and multinational clinical trials.  My clinical interests include outcomes-based research using mobile data tools at the point of care, and the targeted treatment of soft tissue scars, sometimes called blockages or interference fields, as important lessons that have been overlooked by medicine.