President’s Message

The year 2011 has been a productive and stimulating at Yo San University. Our students, didactic and clinical faculty members, administration and clinic staffs, CE participants, members of our Board of Trustees and our Board of Luminaries, clinic patients and the many other community friends are hereby commended and congratulated for the unique and valued contributions that each has made to achieve the palpable sense of wellness, cohesiveness, community and belongingness that characterizes the Yo San University environment. Each member of our community shares in the 2011 achievements of Yo San University. Among those milestone achievements are the following:

• The University posted a record enrollment of 223 students registered at the start of the fall 2011 trimester.

• At the March 13, 2011 commencement ceremony nineteen students were conferred the MATCM degree with oncologist Kristi Funk, M.D. providing and inspiring address to the graduates and guests.

• Grants to support the work of the University were awarded from private foundations including the Green Foundation, the Fineshriber Foundation, the William H. Hazen Foundation, the David L. Buntzman Foundation and the Alliance of Health Care Professionals Foundation.

• Several student scholarship funds were initiated or enhanced. Among the scholarship funds that were awarded or enhanced during 2011 are the Don Primack Memorial Scholarship, the Ni Family Scholarship, the Alliance of Health Care Professionals Scholarship, The MATCM Bursary Awards and the Alumni Scholarship fund.

• SmartBoard units were installed in every classroom in 2011, and several faculty development sessions were conducted to begin the process of upgrading faculty skills in instructional technology.

• After careful study of the Qi Cultivation program involving faculty, students, administration and an outside consultant, improvements to the program that added flexibility were implemented as of September 2011.

• Faculty members participated in special faculty development sessions in May in San Francisco and in November in Safety Harbor, Florida where they explored the application of the method of “Case Based Learning.”

• The Yo San University Continuing Education (CE) Program was rejuvenated with not less than seven successful offerings in the second half of 2011.

• A highly successful Robert Graham Visionary Award Dinner honoring actress Sela Ward was held in April of 2011.

• Clinic marketing outreach activity was expanded considerably with the implementation of the contract with Health Care Dimensions, Inc., which provides not less than one corporate health fair venue each month at which YSU Community Clinic staff and interns share information about the services of our Clinic.

• In April 2011 the University sponsored a highly successful two week externship at hospital and clinics sites in Chengdu China.

• The DAOM Program hosted a May 2011 accreditation candidacy site visit that resulted in the September 2011 award of candidacy status by ACAOM.

• Twelve members of our DAOM Program Cohort #1 whose specialty area was Reproductive Medicine culminated their studies with the successful public defense of their doctoral dissertations at a series of well attended and academically stimulating mini-conferences.

• Subsequent to the August 2011 retreat meeting of our Board of Trustees, the University community began the implementation of a new strategic plan that has as its centerpiece planning for institutional growth and facilities, a plan that is already having a positive impact. The YSU Bookstore was transformed to include a café environment and menu. In late 2011 we will complete the expansion of the third floor women’s rest room. A further agenda of facilities updates is scheduled for implementation during the April-May 2012 break.


While the above are the memorable and public 2011 institutional milestones, the essence of the Yo San Community is perhaps more poignantly characterized by the thousands of private and often silent interactions of learning, wellness and Qi cultivation that transpire in our classrooms, clinic treatment rooms and in our Qi Studio on a daily basis. It is you, our community members, who are integral and instrumental in those interactions. It is especially those moments of insight, health and Qi clarity that have made Yo San University successful in 2011.

Ground Breaking DAOM Capstone/Dissertation Mini-Conferences

As a fitting culmination for their two years of involvement in the Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Program (DAOM), members of the Yo San University premiere cohort participated in the capstone/dissertation mini-conference process conducted in three separate sessions during the November and December 2011 residency weekends. All twelve of the DAOM candidates in the Reproductive Medicine specialty area successfully “defended” their doctoral dissertation research projects in the series of public forums that attracted numerous visitors to the University.

The capstone research project, which is an integral requirement of the Yo San University DAOM Program, is crafted to fulfill two fundamental criteria. The project must represent original research, and further it must have the potential to make a contribution to the literature of the discipline of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods are valued and encouraged. The entire capstone project model is one that his highly individualized to assist each candidate in fulfilling her own research aspirations in relation to the program specialty area.

The seeds for the capstone research projects were sewn early in the DAOM program through a series of three carefully planned research methods courses that introduced the TCM practitioners to the language and processes of research. By the end of the third research course, candidates are expected to have identified their topics, achieved fluency in a wide range of research methodologies with the development of focused expertise in the method chosen for their own research. Moreover at that point each candidate is expected to have developed a good first draft of the first three chapters of the dissertation—Introduction, method and literature review. With the help of the greatly expanded services and resources of the YSU Library, DAOM candidates had access to an abundance of full text data bases of journal articles and monographs pertinent to their topics. Each article was critically examined and considered in terms of its contribution to the research objective. The articles where then organized and articulated to constitute the all important literature review chapter, the pivotal component of the project that establishes the scholarly foundation for the project.

Carrying out the project as per the established research objectives and research questions and as approved by the Yo San University Institutional Review Board (IRB) initially appeared to be a monumental and daunting task. However, all twelve candidates engaged the research process with energy and enthusiasm. As they emerged from the proposal approval stage each candidate was assigned a project advisor who provided guidance, recommendations and encouragement for delving deeper into the literature, collecting more data, appropriately analyzing the resulting data and discussing the implications of the findings. The advisors also worked closely with each candidate in the process of refining chapter drafts, organizing support tables, detailing reference lists and assembling essential appendices. In addition to the project advisor each candidate had access to highly skilled consultants regarding research method, TCM Theory, Western Medicine theory and statistical analysis. The candidates reluctantly accepted the process of presenting draft upon draft to the advisor, with each draft emerging with more coherence, clarity as well as with more precision in the format presentation of the project.

When the defense day arrived, each candidate presented with confidence and poise. And confident behavior is to be expected. After all, the DAOM candidates are the experts regarding their own research topics. Subsequent to the presentation the doctoral committee faculty evaluators each asked a series of questions providing the candidate the opportunity to think on her feet and to demonstrate knowledge of all aspects of the project topic. The faculty evaluators for all three mini-conference sessions were Dr. Meredith Chunyi Qian, a YSU MATCM and DAOM faculty member, Marc Kalan, M.D., a well known Los Angeles reproductive endocrinologist and DAOM Faculty member. In addition to the faculty reviewers, each project was assigned a peer reviewer who also posed questions. Additionally, all of the presentations generated considerable discussion from the audience. The sessions constituted a true academic forum with lively exchange, debate and critical analysis. At the culmination of the final session the DAOM candidates were congratulated by the DAOM Program Director, Dr. Carola Gehrke, and each was presented with a bouquet of fresh flowers, an appropriate symbol of the success of a once in a lifetime task of monumental proportions.

When they entered the program two years ago, for most of the DAOM candidates, the concept of research was a topic of low interest. At the culmination of the program it was obvious that the research process was a most rewarding task, and one that will richly enhance the careers of the new doctors, careers that will include practice, teaching and hopefully the generation of more research.



The names of the Cohort #1 DAOM graduates and their respective research topics are listed below:

• Janice Chen: Treatment of depression with acupuncture: A literature review synthesis in pursuit of the question—Can acupuncture impact reproductive outcomes in infertile women suffering from depression.

• Jessica Chen: The effect of Chinese herbal therapy on pregnancy rate when added to in vitro fertilization (IVF) in combination with acupuncture

• Sharareh Daghighi: Effectiveness of acupuncture and Chinese medicine herbs in lowering the FSH level of a thirty-nine year old female: A case study

• Lori Deutsch: Effects of Western and Eastern fertility treatment modalities on conception in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

• Florence Erman: Treatment of immunologic recurrent miscarriage with Chinese herbal medicine: A literature review synthesis

• Paula Kunkel: The role of Vitamin D in fertility and gestational development: Western and Eastern perspectives

• Andrea Murchison: Patterns of infertility and prior treatment for women who seek treatment at a TCM university fertility clinic

• Elizabeth Ohm: The impact of the herbal formula Qing Bao Zhu Yu Tang in the treatment of endometriosis

• Gila Peled: The influences of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine on semen parameters and male sub-fertility

• Virginia Prior: Effects fo Traditional Chinese Medicine on sperm parameters with a focus on DNA fragmentation: A literature review synthesis

• Cynthia Splies: Assessing the practice patterns of acupuncturists who treat fertility patients in Los Angeles: The clinical use of the Stener-Victorin and Paulus study protocols

• Carla Vidor: Unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss and the psycho-neuro-immunologic Network: Immuno-modulation with Traditional Chinese Medicine and other CAM modalities.

New Clinic Hours

The YSU will now be opened 7 days a week from January 2012.

The new hours are:
Mon - Fri 8:00 am - 9:00 pm
Sat - Sun 8:30 am - 6:00 pm

YSU OFFERS PEDIATRIC ACUPUNCTURE AT VENICE FAMILY CLINIC

YSU has begun offering acupuncture to children 12 to 18 years old at Venice Family Clinic (VFC) on both our Tuesday morning and Tuesday evening acupuncture sessions. We hope to bring the health benefits of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine to older children with a variety of ailments including chronic asthma & allergies, gastrointestinal disorders, stress, anxiety and chronic pain. This program is funded in part by a grant from the Fineshriber Family Foundation.

The Way of Tea

Yo San University was pleased to welcome Wu De (aka Aaron Fisher) for a campus visit on Friday November 4, 2011.  Wu De is an expert on the history, wisdom and healing qualities of tea.  Born in Ohio Wu De studied anthropology and philosophy before beginning travels of the world.  For a period of ten years he De traversed and interacted in the Asian geography and cultures of India, China and Japan before settling in Taiwan where he currently is the master of a school that focuses on the study of tea.  It was at that school in 40 miles outside of the Taipei metropolis that Yo San University student, Collin Hudon met Wu De and began an apprenticeship with him.   Wu De is the cofounder and editor-in-chief of the online magazine, The Leaf.  He is also a senior editor for the Art of Tea Magazine.  His articles about tea have in a number of Chinese and English magazines including Puerb Teapot and Enjoying Tea.   Recently Wu De assisted in the translation and editing of Sian Yan Yun’s The Tea Horse Road.   He is also the author of several books that focus on the history, culture and dynamics of tea in healing physical, social and intra-psychic processes.    A copy of his most recent book,  The Way of Tea (2010, Tuttle Publishing, Tokyo) was presented to Yo San University President, Dr. Larry Ryan.  The text that with narrative interspersed with beautiful illustrations and drawings by the author will become a part of the Yo San University Library collection.  Yo San University will arrange for Wu De to do a public community presentation in late January of 2012 when he is in the United States again.

Yo San University Appoints New Library Manager

Yo San University is pleased to announce the appointment of Siobhan Sullivan to the position of Library Manager.  Siobhan assumes the role of university librarian upon the recent announcement from former Library Manager,  Andrea Anzalone, that she is moving on to a new position in web development.   We are most grateful to Andrea for her year and a half service to Yo San University.  Siobhan Sullivan is well prepared for the task as she has a BA degree with a major in English Literature/American Studies from UCLA as well as a Master’s in Library and Information Science from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA.   Siobhan brings extensive experience in library/information work from positions she held at Woodbury University in Burbank, CA (Reference Librarian) as well as an ESL instructor at “Literacy for All” of Monterey Park, CA.   Her background also includes extensive work as a music production assistant for Disney Studios and other entertainment industry management and production positions.  As a an eager and experienced information retrieval expert and member of the American Library Association, Siobhan is available, skilled and ready to support all Yo San University students and faculty in their academic searches.  We warmly welcome Siobhan Sullivan.