Integrative Health Team

Dr. Liv Baker, a conservation behaviorist and expert in wild animal welfare, is the founder and executive director of the Institute for Compassionate Conservation (University of Calgary) and the behavior and welfare research fellow with the Centre for Compassionate Conservation (University of Technology Sydney).

Dr. Baker’s research focuses on the well-being of individual animals and the role that individual wild animals play in the health of their family groups and populations. She studies a range of wild animals, including elephants, primates, arachnids, rodents and macropods, and the common factors necessary for well-being regardless of species. Her work addresses the question of how to return the power of being wild to animals that have been stripped of it.

Dr. Wendy Jensen is an expert in homeopathic veterinary care. Her focus is on how homeopathic medicine can help animals not only heal, but regain their vitality, energy and zest for life.

Dr. Jensen received her veterinary degree from the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine in 1987. Dissatisfied with traditional medicine, she studied homeopathy with Dr. Richard Pitcairn and was certified by the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy (AVH) in 1994. She opened her own homeopathic veterinary practice, served on the AVH board and was the executive editor of the Journal of the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy for 12 years.

Dr. Jensen co-authored the “New World Veterinary Repertory”, which is used by homeopathic veterinarians worldwide. Her new book, “The Practical Handbook of Veterinary Homeopathy: Healing Our Companion Animals from the Inside Out,” helps dog and cat guardians make the most of their partnership with their veterinary homeopath.

Dr. Jensen has published widely in holistic animal health magazines and lectures extensively at meetings and conferences. She taught for the Pitcairn Institute of Veterinary Homeopathy Professional Course and mentors veterinary homeopaths in the course’s online community.

Dr. Ali Mobasheri, a recognized expert on osteoarthritis, is professor of musculoskeletal physiology in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom and president-elect of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI). His research focuses on cartilage biology, ion channel physiology and biomarkers of osteoarthritis (OA).

Dr. Mobasheri graduated in biochemistry from Imperial College London and completed his Master’s degree at the University of Toronto. He received his doctorate from Wolfson College, University of Oxford, then worked as a lecturer in London and at the University of Liverpool. He also held the position of associate professor and reader in comparative physiology at to the University of Nottingham.

Dr. Mobasheri is the scientific coordinator of the EU Framework 7 funded D-BOARD consortium, which brings together leading European academic institutions and SMEs to focus on the identification, validation and qualification of new biomarkers for degenerative and inflammatory diseases of joints. He is also a member of the APPROACH Consortium, which will set up the first database of OA patients as well as a longitudinal cohort based on innovative stratification methods that identify different osteoarthritis phenotypes..

Dr. Mobasheri has more than 167 primary peer-reviewed publications to his credit. He has contributed to more than 20 book chapters and does ongoing collaborative research with industry and leading academic investigators in Europe and the Middle East. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) and chairs OARSI’s Strategic Alliances Committee.

Dr. Richard Patton has been an animal nutritionist for more than four decades. His experience has taken him to 25 foreign countries to consult on a variety of species. He began his career as a researcher and technical writer and later became a partner in an agriculture consulting group that was integral in developing the Mixit-2+ computer nutrition program, which is known for its versatility and simplicity.

Today Dr. Patton is president of his own consulting firm, Galisteo Land and Livestock, Ltd, and writes and lectures. He works with industrial clients in 10 states and four foreign countries that range in size from Fortune 500 companies to family feed mills.

Dr. Patton has authored numerous scientific publications and his recent book, “Ruined by Excess, Perfected by Lack: The Paradox of Pet Nutrition,” is in its second printing.

Dr. Kushal Konwar Sarma is an elephant veterinarian and professor of surgery and radiology at the College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University in Assam, India. Dr. Sarma’s lifelong mission is the well-being of India’s Asian elephants, individually and as a species. Every year, he treats hundreds of sick elephants and organizes health care for more than 700 captive elephants throughout India.

He is an expert in moving elephants, rhinoceroses and other wild animals for treatment, rehabilitation and translocation. He has led teams in safely relocating hundreds of rogue and musth elephants and those in need of treatment.

Dr. Sarma received his veterinary degree with honors from Assam Agricultural University in 1984. He went on to receive his M.V. Sc. in 1987 and Ph.D. in 1994 in veterinary surgery and radiology, again with honors. He has received many fellowships and awards, and is known as the “Elephant Man of Asia” for his outstanding contributions to the species.

Dr. Sarma consults on human-elephant relationships and elephant welfare, health and management. His clients include several national zoos, government agencies and organizations including the World Wildlife Fund. He has lectured, presented research and served as a resource for other scholars internationally. He is the author of 13 books and chapters and 150 peer-reviewed papers. He organizes national and international training programs for professionals, students and the interested public.

Dr. Huisheng Xie (pronounced “shay”) is a clinical professor of the Integrative Medicine Service at the College of Veterinary Medicine University of Florida and a renowned expert in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM). He founded the Chi Institute in 1998 to train veterinarians in Chinese acupuncture, herbal medicine, food therapy and Tui-na, a therapeutic form of massage.

Dr. Xie received his veterinary degree from the China Southwest University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1983 and his M.S. in Veterinary Acupuncture from China Agricultural University (CAU) in 1988. He was an assistant and associate professor at CAU College of Veterinary Medicine before he left China in 1994 to pursue his doctoral studies in America. He received his Ph.D. in 1999 from the University of Florida, where he investigated the mechanisms of pain control in horses using acupuncture.

In 1998, Dr. Xie founded the Chi Institute, where he continues to teach and develop educational programs to train veterinarians in Chinese acupuncture, herbal medicine, food therapy and Tui-na.

Dr. Xie has received achievement awards from the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture, the National Science and Technology Committee and the China Agricultural University. He has lectured on veterinary acupuncture and herbal medicine internationally and is the author of 20 books and more than 100 peer-reviewed papers. His textbooks, including Xie’s Veterinary Herbology, Xie’s Veterinary Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine-Fundamental Principles, have been used for TCVM training programs in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, South America, Canada and the United States.

Dr. Xie has trained more than 6,000 veterinarians worldwide to practice TCVM.